Cloudkicker
by James7912b
Summary: This story covers Kit's life from his time in the orphanage to his defection from the Air Pirates. Reviews are appreciated. Warning! There are instances of violence.
1. The Freeport Home for Children

**Cloudkicker**

_"I see my path but I don't know where it leads. Not knowing where I am going is what inspires me to travel it."-Rosalina de Castro_

_June, 1934-_

Twice a month, the staff of the Freeport Home for Children took their charges into the city of Freeport to the local movie theater for Matinee Day. It was one of the few treats the children had to look forward to as part of their residency at the Home. The Home was actually an orphanage, but the government had shied away from that term and had opted to use the word 'Home' to make the place seem more friendly. The Home housed 124 children ranging from newborns to 16. It was a small Home, the larger institutions in bigger cities tended to house upwards of two hundred or more. Some of the children had been given up by their parents who could not take care of them due to financial hardships brought on by the depression. A few were problematic children with delinquency issues. Others were in fact genuine orphans with no family to speak of. Every one of them had a story, but many chose not to tell theirs for their own reasons.

The 9 year old bear cub watched the movie in awe, a look of wonder and amazement on his small face. On the screen an air battle took place. Biplanes engaged one another, their machine guns blazing as they fought across the sky. The film was the hit movie _"Wings of Glory" _The epic account of the pivotal battle of the Great War. It told the true life story of Usland fighter ace, Captain Rick Sky and the Squadron of Seven. Sky recorded 12 kills that day and received Usland's highest award for bravery, the Medal of Honor. Shortly after the battle, the Great War had ended. Watching the climactic battle unfold on the screen, the young cub couldn't help but picture himself flying alongside Captain Sky and pursuing the enemy planes. The cub was simply amazed.

Later that night as he slept, the small cub dreamed that he was flying over the no-man's-land of the battlefield and pushing his craft to its limits against his foes. It was the sort of dream that would periodically visit him throughout his life, even intruding into his daily thoughts. A seed had been planted, a seed that would grow into a fully fledged yearning to someday be a pilot himself. The young boy named Kit had found his calling.

_April, 1935-_

"Hey Kit! Head's up!" Kit heard as the ball whizzed passed by his head and went crashing into the fence alongside first base.

"Oh No!" said Kit as he realized that his mistake had resulted in a base hit that should have been a routine out. All on account of his attention being on a low flying plane.

"Thanks for the free hit Kit!" said a rotund pig named Terry who was arguably the slowest runner around.

Kit felt himself flush with embarrassment at his error. He noticed that Larry the shortstop was staring him down. The skinny weasel had scooped up the weakly hit ball and threw it to Kit so he could have tagged out the hitter. Unfortunately, Kit had been lost in thought while he watched the cargo plane heading in for a landing at the nearby field. Had he caught the ball, his team could've been up to bat, but now the tying run was on first in the top of the 8th. The 6-4 score now hinged on the best hitter of the other team. Roy Hughley. Hughley was an imposingly big gorilla with a talent for knocking the ball out of the field. He was also everybody's top pick when teams were chosen. Two pitches later the game was tied off of Hugley's two-run homer and Kit couldn't help but feel responsible for the bind he had gotten his team into. With luck the Leopard pitcher Alby struck out the next batter to retire the side. In the bottom of the 9th, Kit's team managed to get two men on and Larry strode to the plate with a cocky look on his face that said he was there to win the game… After going down swinging, Larry went and sulked in the dugout and watched as the opposition went three and out. His team was taking the field in the bottom of the 10th with Kit leading off. Larry was still angry that the short bear cub had botched a perfect chance to keep the lead and win the game. Now he watched as Kit swung at the first pitch and knocked the ball over the head of the leaping left fielder. Larry watched as Kit made his way to second on a double.

Kit knew he had to make up for his earlier error. He managed to get to second and now he began edging for third.

The next batter was a tall and slim cheetah named Rhett Swift. Swift was all knees and joints and wasn't very athletic, but he put in 100 percent effort into everything he did. Now, Rhett paid close attention to his friend Kit. Was Kit thinking of what Rhett thought he was thinking? The pitch came in too high and the catcher boggled it. Kit took the advantage and sprinted as fast as he could into third. The catcher recovered the ball and threw it to the third baseman. It wasn't even close. Kit safely stole third and now everything rested on Rhett's shoulders. Rhett took another ball and a strike before he finally swung. His hit took the ball between 1st and 2nd as a grounder which drove in the winning run. Kit and Rhett were met by their teammates who ran onto the field to congratulate them. Larry slowly made his way to Kit and said, "Good job Kit," Then he socked him hard on the shoulder causing Kit to stumble back. "Too bad you were too busy dreaming about flying, you could have won us the game then." With that Larry walked off.

"Don't worry about him Kit, Larry has no room to talk after he struck out on three pitches. Just make sure you don't start daydreaming about flying next time we play OK?" Rhett said smiling.

Kit looked up at his friend and said, "I will. I'll block it out."

"Yeah, sure you will flyboy! Now let's go, it's almost time for dinner."

With that the two boys trotted off to the Home's dining hall.

Shortly after lights out Rhett rolled over to face Kit's bunk and said to him, "This airplane thing of yours is like an obsession isn't it?"

Kit rolled to face his friend and replied, "It's something I like a lot."

"A lot? Yeah, uh ok bub. If you say so"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, for starters, One; you always zone out whenever you see an airplane. Two; your favorite movie is _Wings of Glory, _and Three; you always doodle airplanes."

Kit blushed in the dark, embarrassed that he had such an interest in airplanes. Then again, why should he be embarrassed? He heard it all the time in school: You can be anything if you set your mind to it. Some kids wanted to be doctors, some wanted to play baseball, and Kit wanted to be a pilot.

Kit took a deep breath and said, "Rhett, I'm going to be a pilot someday."

Rhett listened to Kit's words and detected the undercurrent of seriousness in them. Kit was 100 percent behind his convictions. He sounded totally certain about his future. Rhett knew Kit for two years and had never heard Kit sound so convinced of something before.

"You're right Kit you _will _be a pilot someday." And with that Rhett rolled back over and went to sleep.

Kit laid there a while longer thinking about what Rhett had just said, _'You will be a pilot someday.' _Kit smiled at the thought and fell asleep to dreams of soaring among the clouds.

_May 1935-_

A sad fact of life is that some children bully other children, particularly younger and smaller children. Kit was small for his age and had had to learn to stick up for himself whenever someone tried to bully him. Kit had been a resident of the school since he was three and he had learned to stay on his toes and, if necessary, fight back. He took his licks from the bullies but always made them pay for it. He felt that if you were going to bully him, then you'd get more than you bargained for. After a while the bullies moved onto other less resilient kids. Because of his past of being bullied, Kit tended to be suspicious of most people, adults included. However, the young cub had developed a soft spot for other bullied kids.

The small rabbit nervously walked down the halls of his new home; The Freeport Home for Children. He was 8 years old and had been an orphan for one year following the death of his mother. The little boy's father had upped and disappeared around his third birthday and for the past year the boy had lived with his maternal grandmother until she had become too ill to care for him. With no other close family, the rabbit had been taken in by the Home. His story was similar to that of many of the other children who had become statistics of the on-going depression. He was now alone in life and the young rabbit named Trevor was terrified.

"Hey, check it out fellas, a new arrival," said a swarthy looking teenage raccoon to his companions, a rotund hippo and monkey with a nervous twitch.

"Hey ears, where you come from?" asked the raccoon.

"Um, I c-come f-from…uhhhh" stammered the rabbit.

"Spit it out buck-tooth, we haven't got all day!" said the monkey with a touch of disdain.

"Hay Valley, I'm f-from Hay Valley," said the rabbit.

"Ohhhh, he's a country boy! Country boy is far from home isn't he guys?" said the Hippo, "Let's give him a good old Freeport Home for Children welcome!"

The Hippo's friends snickered and the little Rabbit took a step back, straight into the arms of Larry the weasel who had quietly tip-toed behind the rabbit as his friends were questioning him.

"Hey there little fella," Larry said smilingly, "Let's take you for a spin."

The silver trash can rolled out of the back entrance to the Home's school building and bounced down the steps into the courtyard where it slammed into a bench that was quickly vacated by a girl lynx. The dazed little rabbit poked his head out at his surroundings and then crawled out of the can and prayed no one saw what had happened. His prayers weren't answered. The sound of the rolling metal can and the laughter of Larry and the gang caught the attention of about a dozen other kids and one angry looking female badger.

"Lawrence Maurice Hilliger!" she yelled, "Stop right where you are young man! And you're friends too!"

Lawrence was frozen in space by 's thunderous voice. He friends, Deke, Malcolm, and Stewart were equally frozen. was a force to be reckoned with. The diminutive badger had been a fixture at the home for over thirty years and had spent that time mastering every sort of trouble maker imaginable. It was said that she once stared down a couple of air pirates who tried to hijack the plane she had ridden on a few years ago.

"All of you! In my office right now!" she said menacingly as she waved a long wooden ruler in her left hand. Obediently the boys scurried off toward her office. turned toward the gathering of children and said, "Don't you all have classes to go to?" With that the recess assembly broke up. "Wait! You there," she said pointing to Kit, "Take this new boy to the nurse's office then help him get situated. You will do that instead of your normal class schedule today." Kit looked down at the still dazed rabbit and offered him his hand.

"Here, let me help you up."

The rabbit stared at Kit's outstretched hand and slowly reached out to it. Kit took his hand and lifted him to his feet. "Don't worry about Larry and his gang, they usually go and do that to all of the new arrivals. By the way, I'm Kit."

"Trevor Spooner," said the little brown rabbit, "Thanks for the hand."

"No problem. Just steer clear of those guys, after a while though they move on to someone else. Sometimes though you need to fend for yourself 'cause if you didn't notice it, no one came to help you except ."

"OK, I'll remember that," said Trevor as he followed Kit to the nurse's office to check the bumps and bruises he suffered during his roll. "Hey Kit, what's your last name?"

Kit continued to walk ahead of Trevor without looking back at him to answer his question.

Thinking that Kit hadn't heard him, Trevor moved up alongside Kit and asked him again, "Hey, what's your last name Kit?"

Kit stiffened a bit as he walked and turned his head away from Trevor and mumbled something under his breath that Trevor couldn't make out. "What was that you said?" asked the rabbit.

Kit turned to him and with a stern look on his face and a voice full of sarcasm said to Trevor, "I don't have one."

"You don't have a last name? How is that? Everyone has a last name."

"Yeah? Well I don't so give it a rest will'ya?" Kit replied with force.

Trevor looked away and nervously bit his lower lip. He should have known; he was in an orphanage and some of the kids had never known anything about their pasts. Had Kit been abandoned as a baby? Had he runaway from an abusive home? Had his parents died and he had decided to erase their memory and his last name in order to save himself from the pain? Whatever it was, Trevor decided that maybe he should leave his bear cub guide alone after the visit to the nurse. The last thing he needed was another person to pick on him.

"Here's the nurse's office," Kit said as they reached the end of the hall. All traces of the anger in his voice were gone and he acted like nothing had happened.

After the nurse had finished with him, Trevor and Kit had been called into Principal Barkley's office. The two entered and saw the old, bespectacled Sheepdog putting some folders into a large filing cabinet to the right of his desk. He closed the cabinet and locked it with a key. He then replaced the key in his vest pocket and then took a seat. Kit knew about the cabinet. It was the infamous Records Cabinet that contained all of the paperwork for each student. _My past is in there, _thought Kit. He had no idea how much information was in there, but he imagined that there must be something about him, his place of birth, and the reasons for him being abandoned, and most importantly, his parent's names. Were they alive or dead? Did they abandon him? And if so, what were there reasons? If only the office and cabinet weren't locked. _One of these days I am going to get into that cabinet, _He thought to himself.

" welcome to the Home. Now I know that you had a rough welcome here from some of our more _troubled _children, but I assure you that I do not tolerate these transgressions and that all four boys will be severely reprimanded. You may even see them tilling the soil of the garden or painting the outside of the building. They will have every hard work detail for the next month. Also I have warned them that any retribution against you will meet with expulsion from the Home and an immediate transfer to the Marshland Home for Troubled Youth."

_Marshland, _thought Kit, _That's the worst possible place for an orphan._ Marshland was set on a marshy isle two miles off of the coast and afforded next to nothing in the way of amenities. Most of the kids there were up and coming criminals.

"Now , I understand that this place is a drastic change from what you know, but here every child has a past," there was a pause, "And every child has a future. Life for an orphaned child can be difficult, but here we aim to nurture and develop young people with the promise that they can make their own way in life. Do you have any questions of me?" asked Principal Barkley.

"N-no s-sir, I do not," answered Trevor.

"Very well then, Kit take to his dorm and see that he gets settled in."

"Yes sir," said Kit. _Great, this guy is a real piece of work. He goes on about kid's pasts and futures and nurturing and development like we're some kind of crop and then he gets to go home to his own family. They have no idea how it is to be an orphan, _Kit thought as he led Trevor to his dorm.

That night after lights out Kit rolled over to face Rhett's bed and asked him, "Rhett, why do you think that the adults here seem to talk about us as if we're insignificant?"

"How do you mean?" was Rhett's reply.

Kit went on to tell Rhett about Principal Barkley's little speech to Trevor.

"Well Kit, I think it's like this: This is only a job for them. They get up in the morning and come here then go home to their own lives. Ever since the Depression started there's a lot more of us orphans and, in turn, more work for them. To them we're just numbers. It's nothing personal, but maybe they just try to desensitize themselves to the reality of how bad things have gotten for everybody-orphans in particular."

Kit thought about what Rhett had said and marveled at how deep-thinking the young cheetah was. Rhett had a way of seeing through things to find the deeper meaning. Perhaps it was true; maybe the adults knew how hopeless the situation was for the average orphan. Maybe they saw how the Depression had changed things and that there was no clear way to make things normal again and that the adults felt that in order to cope with the large numbers of orphans, they needed to be as impersonal as possible and avoid any attachment to the children. It made sense now. Kit began to think that maybe the only way to escape the harsh realities of the world was to be indifferent to anyone other than oneself. That's how the staff was so, all things considered; he could be like that too. Besides, he reasoned, looking after only oneself is a lot easier than looking after others and having obligations. One more thought entered Kit's mind: _the cabinet. _He had to know what was in his records. All of his questions about his past could be contained within the cabinet. _Why was he an orphan? What happened to his parents? Did they die? Or did they abandon him like some of the other poor saps in this school? _The questions tore at Kit's heart and filled him with a sense of emptiness.

"Why am I an orphan?" he whispered to himself, careful to avoid waking the sleeping kids. The empty feeling grew inside the cub and suddenly his vision became blurred with tears. A sob rose in his throat and he buried his face in his pillow to stifle it. He choked on his sobs and gripped his pillow tighter as he released his sorrows. _I've got to get to that cabinet, _Kit thought as he cried himself to sleep.

Directly across from Kit, Trevor laid awake in his bunk, his ears zeroing in on the soft sounds of someone crying. The rabbit was blessed with a keen sense of hearing and he was able to determine that the crying was coming from across from him. It was coming from Kit.


	2. Falsely Accused

_"Adventure must start with running away from home"-William Bolitho_

_July, 1935-_

Kit was in Heaven, or the closest thing to Heaven. The Home had taken the children to the annual Mid-Islands Air Show at the Mid-Islands Aerodrome. In an act of charity during the tough times of the Depression, the Usland Army Air Corps reached out to the community in an effort to boost morale. The base commander, a Brigadier General named Rickenbaker, had invited the children of the Freeport Home to come for free. It was an example of the military's partnership with its civilian neighbors. Despite the economic hardships, it had been decided that events such as the air show would go on in order to show the public that the military would always be there for them.

"Look at that! That's a P-41 Skyhawk! And there's a P-37 Thunderbolt!" Kit said excitedly as he pointed out the two fighter planes to Trevor. "Oh, they even got a McDouglas SBC Dauntless Attack Plane. And look! That one with the pontoons is a Conwing L-16. It's one of the best cargo planes ever built. There aren't too many around so this must be one of the few left in military service. I think the rest were sold to the civilian market. Now the Air Corps uses Khan Industry's transports."

"Wow Kit, you sure know a lot about airplanes. We've been here an hour and I think you've told me everything about almost all of them. How do you know so much about planes?" Trevor asked.

"_Flyboy Magazine_ and _Popular Aviation, _That's how," Was Kit's reply. Those were Kit's two favorite magazines. In them he found a glimpse into a new world, a world of adventure, danger, and excitement, a world far from the daily monotony of the Home. "Someday I am going to be a pilot."

Trevor looked at Kit and noticed the dreamy expression on his face. His glowing smile and…those eyes, eyes that looked far off over the horizon. It seemed if Kit was looking at something that only he could see. Since Trevor had met Kit he had noticed that the older boy was something of an enigma. He had an indefinable _something _about himself that set him apart from the other kids. He could be friendly and outgoing one minute and quiet and hard at another. It was as if he was two different people at the same time. Trevor wondered if Kit's bravado and exuberance were a front masking a person he didn't know or understand. He had an edge to himself; as if he was hiding something or that he didn't want anyone to see him for who he really was. _What if Kit didn't even know who he really was? _That thought sent a shiver down Trevor's spine. A person like this could be capable of anything, good or bad. Kit looked down at Trevor and said, "Hey c'mon Trev, there's Rhett and Alby and they've got ice cream!" And with that Kit trotted off toward the cheetah and leopard with Trevor in tow.

While Kit and the other kids were enjoying their day at the aerodrome, Larry and his friends had been hard at work painting the Boy's Dormitory. When told that they were going to be painting, Malcolm Delarge got sassy with Coach Strum, "How is it we have paint when this school can barely afford anything huh? Or are the taxpayer dollars going to pay for new paint instead of getting us out of the Depression?"

"Listen here DeLarge!" bellowed the hulking bison coach, "Its bad enough I got pegged to supervise you three ingrates on a day when I can be enjoying the Air Show, but I am not going to take any of your lip! Now, all of this paint was donated through Khan Industries so don't you bother about where the money comes from. You should be thankful that people like donate to people in need so get back to work!"

The three immediately went back to painting, intimidated by the ill-tempered physical education coach. After their painting for the day was completed, the three boys sat on a bench in the cafeteria to eat and discuss what to do about Trevor Spooner.

"That little kid got us into all of this. Who knows what all he told old-man Barkley?" stated Malcolm.

"I bet that twerp Kit filled his head with all kinds of stuff about us! We should've beaten him up that night in his bunk. That little wanna-be flyboy made me look bad on the ball field. When was the last time anyone put him in his place?" asked the irate Larry.

Malcolm thought hard about it while Stewart picked at his mashed potatoes. "Umm, I think it was Ronnie Bower and that was a few months ago, but Kit clocked him good upside the head and since then no one has got to him," said Stewart.

Bower was a mouthy boxer who had no problems bullying younger kids. He was 12 whereas Kit was a nine-year-old who was small for his age. Due to his infractions, Bower was facing a month's worth of punishment much like what the three 10 year olds were undertaking. Instead Bower had runaway.

"Hey, anyone knows if anyone heard anything from Bower?" asked Malcolm in between bites of his food.

"I heard ol' Witherspoon got him up in Shipwreck Beach. I heard he was trying to get to New Fedora and got caught stealing some food and then Witherspoon came and took him to Marshland," answered Larry.

The boys looked at each other in apprehension at the mention of Marshland. It was the place where the worse juvenile offenders and chronic runaways were sent. Rumor had it that it was a mosquito-infested place where kids broke rocks and dug holes all day for no reason other than to keep them busy. It supposedly had guards and a work day that stretched from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m. It was the last place any kid would want to go. Larry broke the silence, "OK, so what do we want to do about Kit and his little sidekick?"

"What about his skinny friend Rhett? I don't like him, he thinks he's a big know-it-all?" said Stewart

"Yeah, I don't like the way he looks! He's so thin and pathetic," interjected the rotund Malcolm.

"Never mind him! Kit is the one I want. We can deal with Rhett some other time and the same goes for that goofy rabbit. Kit is the leader of that little trio so I say we jump him and put him in his place!" said Larry who was obviously enjoying the planning of Kit's demise.

"So what are we gonna do about it?" asked Malcolm.

"Listen here DeLarge!" roared Larry in a spot-on impersonation of Coach Strum, "I've gotta plan…"

Two days later the trio sprung their trap. Kit had helping out with the dishes as part of KP when he literally bumped into Larry who had also been assigned to dishwasher duty.

"Oops! Sorry about that Kit." said the weasel.

"Well watch where you're going ok?" mouthed Kit.

"Hey! You don't have to yell Kit."

"Why not? You don't have a problem yelling at other people Larry so just leave me alone!" Kit said and turned his back on Larry so he could finish with his dishes.

"Kit! Wait-I, uhhh, can we talk?"

"What do you want to talk about that I'd be interested in?"

"Look, I'm sorry for being a jerk to Spooner and also to you. This month long punishment is terrible and if I mess up once more they're going to send me to Marshland. I don't want to go there! Stewart and Malcolm are acting like they don't care but I don't want to go. Between you and me," Larry said as he leaned in close to Kit's ear, "They threatened me if I go soft. They said they were going to jump Spooner and I told them no but then they said they'd get me if I backed out. They blamed him for us being punished. Now they say he's gotta pay."

"Why are you telling me this, why don't you go to Barkley and tell him."

"Like he'd believe me," was Larry's answer

Kit thought about it: Larry seemed pretty nervous about being sent to Marshland and he'd heard talk about Stewart and Malcolm planning on doing something to Trevor. _If I go with Larry to talk to Barkley, then maybe Larry will tell Barkley everything he told me and that would show if he's really honest about all this and it would save Spooner from being picked on more. Now if I went and told Barkley myse-_

"Ahhhhh! Kit! No!" Larry screamed in terror as he grasped his left hand with his right and jumped back two steps into the counter behind him. Kit spun around and saw blood gushing from Larry's wrist. Kit moved toward the yelping weasel and grabbed his wrist and pulled the howling boy's hand in for a closer look. Just then Larry snatched Kit's hand with his hurt hand and with his free hand, placed a steak knife in Kit's hand. Then screaming at the top of his lungs he cried, "KIT'S CUT ME! HELP SOMEBODY! HELP! KIT STABBED ME!"

Kit jumped back in horror, tripped, and fell to the floor. He lost his grip on the knife and it went skidding across the floor and stopped at the feet of . The tall swan who oversaw the kitchen looked down at the bloody knife and then to the two boys; one screaming and holding his hand and the other laying on the floor with a look of disbelief on his face.

"BUT I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! I DIDN'T HURT LARRY!" pleaded Kit to the sour-faced sheepdog.

"QUIET YOU!" Roared Coach Strum who stood to Kit's right.

The sheepdog leaned forward on his desk to face the teary-eyed boy and asked in a quiet voice, "Then explain why saw the knife in your hands before it skidded to her feet? Why on earth would Larry stab himself hmmmmm? That boy is a nervous wreck young man. I know he is a bully but I have never seen that boy act like he is now. He's terrified. He needed 11 stitches so what do you think of that hmmmmm?"

"He's acting! You said it yourself. He did it to himself to blame me!"

"That's ridiculous Kit! He said he went to you to apologize and ask you to vouch for him because he didn't want to be sent to Marshland and he said you spit his apology back out at him and became verbally abusive to him and then he said when he begged you to help him, you cut him with the knife."

"That's a lie! He's lyin-"

"ENOUGH!" yelled the normally quiet Barkley. The principal took a deep breath, straightened his brown tie and sat back into his chair. He tapped his fingers in thought and then said, "You've been with us since you were 3 Kit. In the 6 or so years you've been a resident of the Home, you have proven yourself to be a resourceful little fellow, but at the same time you have struggled with other children. You have been involved in more than a few fights with other students, although I do admit that _some_ were bullies. You only have a few friends and academically you are lackluster at best. It isn't easy being an orphan and I know a lot of the boys and girls here have had some, how shall I put it? Emotional problems to work through. In fact, did you know that Larry was beaten by his drunkard father? No, I guess you didn't. He is a bully and bullies do occasionally get beaten back. However, he did not deserve to be assaulted. You are not a bad child Kit, but I fear that maybe this was an example of pent up aggression being released. Being bullied yourself and being an orphan may have contributed to your _outburst. _In light of this I am to adhere to policy and have you examined by a psychologist."

"YOU THINK I'M NUTS! Larry did this to make me look bad because Trevor told you what they had done to them and got them punished and, and…" Kit stammered.

"That will be quite enough young man. Now, you will go back to your dorm without supper and tomorrow you will meet with . Coach Strum, please escort this young man back to his Dorm," said the principal with a dismissive wave of his hand. As Kit was led away by the bison coach he failed to notice that he was being watched by someone in the infirmary.

Larry peeked through the curtains and watched the coach lead Kit toward the dorms. He chuckled quietly to himself as he absentmindedly touched the dressing on his hand. The cut had hurt a little when he drew the knife across his hand, but then again, the pain was minuscule next to the pain his drunkard father had inflicted on him.

He had to get out of here. Kit had decided after his two hour meeting with the diminutive that he had to leave. For the entire length of the meeting the condescending newt had pried into Kit's mind with all of the gentleness of a lumberjack hacking away at a tree. Kit explained his side of the story to the psychologist, but Newton had preferred to explore Kit's past. _Do you remember your parents? Do you have nightmares? Do you feel like you don't belong here? Do you think that maybe Larry and the other bullies are trying to reach out to you? Are you in the habit of bottling up your feelings? _Nothing had been accomplished during the appointment. Afterward, while he was waiting outside the principal's office, Kit overheard the doctor speaking to Principal Barkley about him:

"The boy's silence is indicative of a collective embarrassment and guilt over who he is and what he has done. He feels insecure about himself and finally all of his pent up self-loathing erupted and he harmed that other boy," said the doctor.

", I think that is a little harsh toward the boy. Yes he had been bullied before and he is somewhat of a loner, but it is unfair to label him as _self-loathing." _said the principal.

Barkley was actually sticking up for him! Kit thought.

"Principal Barkley, it is my recommendation that the boy is to be placed in my custody for at least a month so I can examine his state of mind in-depth and rehabilitate him into a more _manageable_ child."

"_Manageable_ doctor? I am certain that the boy is not in need of a month's stay at Marshland. He hurt the other boy but it may have been reflexive."

_Marshland! OH NO!_ Kit thought.

"I personally feel that Kit needs a month of punishment details and he needs to make a formal apology to the other boy, but he does not need to leave the Home."

"Unfortunately that is out of your hands Principal Barkley."

"What do you mean 'out of my hands'?" asked the incredulous principal.

"Recently, the department that oversees all children in the various institutions has determined that children that lash out in violence are to be removed from their institution and be given a full psychiatric evaluation. The closest such place is at my office at Marshland and depending on the findings of myself and my associates, the boy may have to stay there indefinitely."

"Never!" Kit swore under his breath.

The door opened and the principal called Kit inside. Kit stood in front of the mahogany desk and stood in front of the principal. The small doctor sat in a chair along the window and seemed to study the boy with insensitive eyes.

"Kit, the day after tomorrow you will leave with . You will be taken to Marshland and will stay there for about a month," the principal paused and then in a low voice said, "Maybe longer."

"THAT'S NOT FAIR I-"Kit said but was stopped by the stern sounding principal.

"Kit, in light of your actions and new regulations, you are required to go. Now tomorrow evening I want you to pack your things and be ready to leave that morning at seven. Do you understand?"

Tears of anger welled up in Kit's eyes and with a shaking voice he said, "You adults think you know what's best for us kids, well you're all wrong! Larry framed me and none of you want to see my side of the story. You just want what's easier for you. You don't know what its like to be an orphan, you have your lives and you think you can run our lives! I-I ughhh…" Kit tapered off as his voice broke in sobs.

The principal took a deep breath and said, ", would you mind giving Kit and I a few moments?"

"Not at all Principal Barkley, as a matter of fact I think I am done here for now and if it all right with you I need to make a call to Marshland and let them know to be expecting the boy."

"Yes, yes feel free doctor."

The doctor quietly left the room. The principal looked at Kit and said, "Look at me Kit."

Kit obeyed and noticed that the principal was looking into his eyes.

"Before you tell me again that I don't know what its like and that I don't know how you feel let me say a couple of things. One: Marshland is tough but I am certain that you will not stay there longer than a month. I will see to it myself. Two: Unbeknown to you and everyone else here I do know what its like." Kit stared at the principal with a confused look. The principal, seeing Kit's quizzical expression took a breath and said, "You see Kit, I grew up in Marshland. I'm an orphan too. My family was killed in a boating accident and I was placed there. I spent 8 years in that place. So I _do _know what its like." Kit looked at the principal in amazement and then turned and left the office. As the young cub left the principal sat down and said to himself, "A person can't change their past," then he took a key out of his vest pocket and placed on his desk, "But a person can decide their future."

It was quiet in the large dormitory. It was a quarter till midnight and the only sounds were the slight snoring of a couple of the other boys and the sound of a tree branch lightly tapping the window in the warm tropical breeze. Everyone was asleep except for Kit. He had laid in bed faking sleep just to make sure that no one else was awake. In the almost two hours since lights out he had fined tuned his escape plan. Kit had decided to travel with as little as possible: a couple of extra shirts and a pair of pants and three days worth of socks. He had his toothbrush and a small backpack to carry everything in. He planned on sneaking out to the tree line and making his way through the woods until he reached the main road to the small village of Tidewater Beach where he would sneak aboard one of the few sea plane that were normally parked there. He knew that the pilots usually flew out on their cargo runs every day and he reasoned that he could manage to get on one that would leave at daybreak. He figured that he wouldn't be noticed until breakfast which gave him an almost 7 hour head start. By then he should be en route to places unknown. After that he would have to wing it. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and gently moved off of his bunk. He quietly opened his locker and grabbed his backpack and then he tiptoed away to the door. He exited the dorm building and made sure to stay in the shadows. The sounds of the wind blowing through the trees were enough to mask the sound of his footsteps on the concrete path. To Kit's left was the darkened baseball field and it was from there that he would make his move into the tree line. However he was not quite ready to make that move.

Kit squeezed himself into the window of Principal Barkley's office with the slightest of efforts. It had taken the resourceful boy less than a minute to pry open the old window with a nail file that he had brought along for just this reason. Now inside the darkened office Kit faced the Records Cabinet. _Now to pry my way in, _he thought to himself. Kit looked around the room to see if there was anything on the principal's desk that may be of more use to him than his file. Then he spotted it on the principal's desk. It was sitting right there plain as day, almost as if it had been waiting for him: the key.

"It couldn't be," he said to himself, "Unless…Barkley left it there by accident or on _purpose. _Kit thought back to what the principal had said to him about his own past and about being an orphan. "He left it here for me," the cub couldn't help by smile at the thought of Principal Barkley doing something above and beyond for him. Kit grasped the key and took a tentative step toward the cabinet. With his heart beating fast, he inserted the key into the keyhole, "Well, here goes," and he twisted the key until the cabinet lock clicked. Slowly he opened the cabinet and looked down at the numerous files before him. He sifted through the alphabetically organized files until he came to the one that said **Kit. **There it was, his record and in it, his past. Kit's heart was beating hard in his chest as he contemplated the folder.

"Its all right here Kit, this is everything about you." He said to himself as he sank to the floor and opened the thin folder. Inside was a recent picture of him taken at the beginning of the school year. There were pictures underneath it of him that had been taken over the years. Finally he came to a picture of a three year old boy in a light green shirt. It was Kit's first picture since he had been an orphan. Then he noticed the written profile about him.

_Subject: Kit McCloud Date of Birth: 5 May 1925Place of Birth: Cape Suzette-Pacific Territories_

_Parents: Father-Kieran McCloud: 2 March 1901-19 July 1928_

_Mother-Katie McCloud: 11 October 1901-19 July 1928_

_Siblings: None_

_Comments: The above subject is being placed in the care of the Freeport Home for Children as per regulations pertaining to the housing of orphaned and abandoned children. The subject is a 3 year old bear cub that has been recently orphaned. The subject's parents were Kieran McCloud of Mariner's Bay, an employee/aeronautical designer for Teledyne/Bryan Industries, and Katie McCloud, also of the same places of residency and employment. Both parents were killed in a civilian plane crash while en route to Cape Suzette for business. Date of death was 19 July 1928. The subject was at the time being cared for by family friends. Afterward, Teledyne/Bryan placed the child in the care of the Home pending location of any next of kin. Unfortunately, no next of kin were found and it has been determined that the subject will be housed at the Home until he is adopted or once he reaches 16 years of age. Teledyne/Bryan has donated $500 dollars to the subject that is to be given to him upon adoption or release from the Home._

_Clarence J. Barkley_

_Vice-Principal, Freeport Home for Children_

_3 August, 1928_

Kit read and reread the document and did so until his eyes welled up with tears. He wiped his eyes and said, "No. I'm not crying." He looked through the rest of his folder. There were some other official documents pertaining to his status as an orphan, medical and dental records, academic records and a sealed envelope with _Kit McCloud _written on it. There were no photos of his parents and this saddened him. He never remembered what they looked like. Their images were lost to his memory. At least he now knew his parent's names and his own, "Kit McCloud. Kit McCloud," he said letting his name sink in. "I'm Kit McCloud. I have a real name now." This fact comforted him but at the same time it made him sad. He had no relatives and with that he felt all too alone in the world, "Its almost as if all this is meaningless. I have a name, but I'm still just another anonymous orphan." These thoughts faded as Kit looked at the envelope. Using his nail file he opened the envelope and withdrew its contents. Inside were a short, hand-written note, a few drawings, and 5 $100 bills. Kit stuffed the bills into his pockets and then turned his attention to the note.

_Kit McCloud,_

_At this time you have either been adopted or released from the Home. Please accept my sincere and belated condolences regarding your parents. Kieran and Katie were skilled colleagues and great friends. They will be greatly missed by their friends at Teledyne/Bryan. Enclosed with this letter is $500 which is for you to get yourself on your feet and keep you in good financial standing for at least a year. Also there are several diagrams of a project that your parents were working on in their spare time. I am not sure what their intent was, perhaps it was for recreational use, but seeing as they were both professional aeronautical engineers then maybe you will take after them and see their project through to fruition. I wish you the best of luck in life and success in your endeavors._

_Arthur M. Villers_

_Chief, Research and Development, South Pacific Region_

Kit looked closely at the sketches and diagrams. They showed a thin, crescent-shaped device that was listed as 24 inches long. The name at the top of each diagram was _Airfoil. _Kit stared at the pictures and the notes that were scribbled on the papers and wondered, _Airfoil huh? Maybe it is some kind of new boomerang. _That was when Kit noticed a smaller drawing on the bottom of one of the pages. The small drawing showed a figure standing atop the Airfoil. _I wonder if this is what I think it is…_The wind outside picked up and demanded Kit's attention. It felt like a tropical storm was brewing outside. Kit decided that he'd better get a move on if he was to make it to Tidewater Beach. Kit replaced his file in the cabinet. He kept a hold of the drawings for the airfoil but left behind his records. He knew his real name and birth date, and the names of his parents as well as what had happened to them. He had committed all of it to his memory, but he reasoned that they would expect him to make his own way in the world and he intended to do just that. He locked the cabinet and placed the key right where Principal Barkley had left it. Then he left out the window and headed across the darkened field.

Kit quickly made his way to the edge of the field to where a small chain-link fence separated it from the jungle beyond. As he was about to climb over the fence he heard a noise, it sounded like someone clearing their throat.

"Ahem," came from behind Kit. Someone found him! He was finished. Slowly he turned to face the person behind him.

"Leaving without saying goodbye Kit," asked Rhett.

"Rhett, what are you doing here?" asked Kit.

"I was planning on asking you the same thing. Of course I already know the answer, you're running away."

"Look, don't tell anybody please. I've got to get out of here before they take me away to Marshland."

"So, the rumor is true about you. I heard you took a swipe at Larry with a knife, but that doesn't sound like you."

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone knows Larry will say anything to cover his skin and he'll do anything to get back at someone. He got threatened with Marshland so he probably pulled a stunt to get you sent there instead. Besides, you may be hot-headed sometimes, but I doubt you'd knife someone."

"Well you're right, I didn't," Kit said as he went into the details about the events that got him into trouble.

"Wow, that's pretty underhanded of Larry. I don't blame you from getting out of here. If I was in your shoes I'd do the same thing," said Rhett.

"So you're not going to tell anyone Rhett?"

"What's to tell? I was asleep in bed," Rhett said smiling. Then he went into how he had been woken by the sounds of Kit making his escape and how he had decided to follow him along.

"You mean you followed me the whole way?" asked a disbelieving Kit.

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep so I decided to follow you and I gave you about a 30 second head start. I saw you go into the principal's office."

"I got my records out and looked at them. The key is on his desk if you want to check yours."

Rhett thought about it for a moment then said, "Naw, I know what I need to know. But you," Rhett paused and smiled then continued, "You don't belong here Kit, you're too restless to stay here. You had to know and I don't blame you for getting into the records. You'd better get out of here before you waste too much time and get caught up in bad weather."

Kit looked at his skinny friend and was once again amazed at how perceptive Rhett was. He felt bad that he was going to leave Rhett and Trevor and the others behind, but Rhett was right, _he didn't belong here_. But maybe he could do something good for the kids here. Kit reached into his pocket and then offered a handshake to Rhett. Rhett accepted then pulled away and looked at what was in his hand.

"What's this? Where'd you get this at?"

"Never mind where I got it, it's yours now. Use it to do some good for the other kids," said Kit.

"But what can I do?" asked Rhett.

"You'll think of something good to do with it." Then Kit turned and went to the fence and stopped. He turned and said, "Take care Rhett and keep an eye on Trevor for me ok?"

"Yeah, defiantly Kit," Rhett paused, then added, "Kit, take care of yourself. And have an adventure for me. "

Kit smiled warmly at his friend and said, "Sure will Rhett." With that Kit went over the fence and entered the jungle with a smile on his face.

Rhett watched his friend disappear into the dark jungle and smiled to himself, _At least one of us is getting out of here. _He looked down at the $100 bill that Kit gave him and said to himself, "Time to do something good for the kids." Then he walked off toward the dormitory while ideas of how to help the other kids went through his mind.


	3. Runaway

"_I travel not to go anywhere, but to go"-Robert Louis Stevenson_

The rain had begun to fall and it managed to find its way through the jungle canopy and onto Kit, soaking him to the fur. He was tiring out as he had been trudging his way through the jungle for the past few hours. He had made sure to keep near enough the edge of the tree line in order to keep the road to Tidewater Beach in sight. After another difficult hour of walking he came upon the town. The streets were dark as it was early morning. He exited the jungle and proceeded through the quiet streets toward the docks. The salty smell of sea water acted as a beacon and drew him toward some old wooden buildings and a couple of seaplanes. One was a four-engine PBY Catarina civilian model that was in a state of repair and the other was a twin-engine SP 19 Cormorant with an opened cargo ramp. Kit could hear snoring coming from the inside of the plane but his view was blocked by a bunch of crates bearing the insignia of Sultan Enterprises. Kit decided to take his chances and hide among the crates and he quietly tip-toed his way into the plane, careful not to wake the sleeping moose that was racked out on a bunk at the front of the cargo hold. Kit nestled down into a small gap in the boxes and was asleep within a minute. He slept so deeply that he didn't even wake when the moose fired up the engines and took his plane into the air.

The shaking brought on by the turbulence woke Kit from a deep sleep. He opened his eyes and for a moment he thought he was back at the Home. Only after an orange fell onto his head after being jostled by the turbulence did Kit fully realize where he was. He was inside an airborne plane! This was his first flight and he missed the take off. He wondered how long the plane had been in flight and he was thankful that the pilot hadn't found him. Kit peeled the orange and hungrily scarfed it down. He stayed seated between the crates for quite a while as he planned what he was going to do when the plane landed. Kit planned on leaving the plane as soon as possible and heading into town to get some food, provided there was a town where he was going. He had no idea what the plane's destination was. Maybe he could find a pilot who would get him to take him on as a crewman. Then he could eventually work his way toward being a pilot.

"Well, I was wondering when you were going to wake up," came a voice from above Kit. Startled, Kit looked above him into the face of the moose pilot. CAUGHT! Kit thought and looked left and right for an escape route. "If ya lookin ta run kid, ya ain't gonna get real far, unless you plan on fallin."

"Look, I can explain, I-"Said Kit.

"Don't worry 'bout it kid I knows what ya are. Yous a stowaway aintcha?"

"Yeah," Kit piped up with bravado in his voice. That's right, I stowed away and…"

"I can see the obvious kid. You another air hobo eh?" inquired the moose.

_Air hobo? _Thought Kit, "Uh-what's and air hobo?" asked Kit.

"Why you are kid," said the moose.

Kit stared at the moose, who was dressed in an orange tropical shirt and a pair of aviator glasses, with a look of confusion and said, "Oh yeah, I stowed away on your plane cause I'm an air hobo."

"Yeeeeaaaaahhhh," the moose drawled then added, "Judging by the looks of you, you're pretty new at this. Had to stop and think what an air hobo is, you're just a runaway who hopped a flight eh?"

Kit knew he was found out and decided to come clean with the moose, "Yeah, you're the first person I hopped a flight with mister. Wait! How'd you know I was here?"

"A good cargo pilot always checks his cargo before he flies. I noticed you curled up between the boxes," said the moose.

"And you didn't throw me out?" asked Kit.

"No, course not. I'm gonna need some help off loading these crates so I thought I'd give you a ride in exchange for your services," said the moose.

"And if I ran out as soon as we landed?" asked Kit.

"Trust me kid, you don't want to do that, there's a lot of cops with nuthin but time on their hands where we're headed."

"Where are we headed?" inquired Kit.

"Port Snorsby. It's on New Gunnea Island and all of them Anglian colonists like their law and order."

"Anglians are everywhere aren't they?" said Kit.

"You know what they say: 'The sun never sets on the Anglian Empire.' But don't worry nuthin, as long as you help me off load the cargo then you won't get in any trouble."

Kit thought the offer through and finally decided that it was in his best interest to take the pilot's offer, "OK, you've got yourself a cargo-unloader."

"Good. Now what do I call you kid?" asked the moose.

"Kit McC-"

"NO! No no no no! An air hobo never gives his real name. Air hobos go by either their first name only or by a nickname. That's something ya better learn if yer gonna be an air hobo."

"Well OK, call me Kit. And why would I want to stay an air hobo though."

"Well Kit my name is Albert," said the moose as he offered a hand to Kit. Kit shook his hand and the moose went on, "Being an air hobo is the next best thing to being a pilot. You travel all over and see a lot of places and do a lot of things. Plus it comes in handy if you don't know how to fly."

"I'm going to be a pilot someday," said Kit.

Albert grinned and then had Kit follow him into the cockpit. Kit took a seat in the co-pilot's chair and watched while Albert orientated him to the control panel. There was the ignition, the ramp control leaver, altimeter, air speed gauge, speedometer, and many other controls and switches. Albert explained to Kit that they had been flying for 4 hours and were due to land in an hour and a half. Kit asked about Albert's history and the moose explained that he hailed from the great state of Montanya, 'Great Sky Country' he called it. He had learned to fly from his barnstormer father who was a pilot in the Great War. Once Albert turned 18 he got a job for a freelance cargo company based out of Frisco City and ended up flying all over the South Pacific. He was 24 and had been flying since he was 14.

"Dad got me into the cockpit young and taught me everything I know 'bout flying. He's real glad I got a job that pays well when so many people are hurting for cash."

"You don't mind being away from your family Albert?" asked Kit.

"I get to go home every few months. Plus I'm saving up to by this plane and be my own boss. I figure it'll be another year or two but I can make it. Sleeping in the _Montanya Express _saves on paying for a room."

"The _Montanya Express? _Is that the plane's name?"

"Sure is. Every pilot names his plane, even if he doesn't exactly own it," said Albert.

Once the plane landed at Port Snorsby, Kit helped Albert off load the crates and place them in the back of a waiting truck. The bustling port city beckoned the cub with the smell of spices and food. He was starving and hoping to get something into his stomach soon. Once the work was done and Albert paid, the two of them took a seat on the ramp. An orangutan in a white uniform strolled up to the side of the plane and began to pump fuel. Albert turned to Kit and said, "Well, I'd better be on my way Kit."

"What? You're gonna leave?" asked Kit

"Yeah, I got to head back to Tidewater Beach for another pickup."

"What about me?" asked Kit with more than a little uncertainty.

The moose looked at Kit and said, "You've got a lot to learn about being an air hobo. Air hobos never take the same plane twice in a row unless it's an absolute emergency. They always go and find another pilot to bum a ride off of or they do like you did and sneak aboard. They avoid the authorities like the plague and they learn to think on their feet. Adventure and excitement are two of their favorite words, they'll band together sometimes, and they'll even stay in a place for awhile. My suggestion is to go with the flow and stay low. Don't attract too much attention to yourself and be ready to beat feet if need be. Oh, and watch out for air pirates well you're at it."

"Air pirates?" Kit said, "I've heard about them. I've seen news about them in the papers and on movie reels."

"Then you'll know they're not nice people, 'specially this one named Karnage. He's a real dangerous guy and a nutcase."

Kit sensed it was time for him to leave Albert and look for another pilot. "Thanks for everything Albert, I appreciate the ride and I hope you get to buy your plane."

"You and I both Kit. Now remember what I told you and you should be fine. Maybe we'll run across one another sometime."

"Yeah, I'll definitely help you with the cargo again," Kit said smiling.

The two parted with a handshake and Kit stayed at the dock as he watched Albert and the _Montanya Express_ disappear into the clouds.

Kit ended up staying in Port Snorsby for two days. After parting with Albert, Kit went off to explore the bustling port city. He spent some of his money on an expensive seafood dinner and continued to make his way across the city. He realized that he had exposed himself when he ate at the restaurant and so he decided to keep a low profile for the remainder of his time in the port. He stayed at a cheap motel near the docks before deciding to hop a flight off of the island. He was initially unsuccessful at getting a flight out due to a pair of belligerent dingo pilots from the nearby Anglian territory of Downunda. They chased him off after he approached their sea planes. "Oy! You there! What'ya think ya doin' kid? Git away from here," yelled the shorter of the two dingoes.

"Hey Duncan, I think this little cub reckons he can steal a free flight outta here," said the taller dingo.

"Bleeding air hobos Roger. Get off our bloody docks lad if ya knows what's better fer ya!" roared Duncan. Kit facing odds that were against him, turned and scampered back the way he had came. He had better luck an hour later when he sneaked into a crate of bananas and was loaded up into a large four-engine aircraft crewed by a Rhino and a skinny monkey. Kit laid hidden for the entire flight and soon fell asleep. When he awoke and saw where he was he couldn't believe his luck, or rather his _bad luck_.

"You've got to be kidding me," Kit stated in disbelief as he stared at the familiar port of Tidewater Beach. "I made a circle!" Kit's luck went from bad to worse as he felt a pair of large hands yank him up out of the banana crate. He found himself staring into the face of the rhino.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here; a stowaway. Hey Dave what do we do with stowaways?"

The monkey appeared alongside the rhino and a sneer spread across his face as he said, "Why we throw them out of the plane in mid-air Errol."

"Wait guys! You don't want to do that," Kit said with a hint of humor and cockiness mixed together.

"And why exactly wouldn't we want to do that kid?" asked Errol.

"Because you've just landed and it would be a waste of your time to get airborne again just to throw me out. Besides you've got cargo to deliver," Kit replied with an innocently cute smile.

"Good point little guy. That's good thinking, I like that a lot," said Errol. Kit let out a barely noticeable sigh of relief…

Kit splashed into the cool water headfirst after being chucked off of the dock by the rhino. He quickly surfaced to the laughter of the two pilots. "Hey kid! Don't forget your backpack!" Dave yelled as he threw Kit's backpack straight into his face. "Now get out of here before we decide to call the cops!" Kit grabbed his pack and swam thirty feet to the nearest dock and heaved himself up.

"Well it can't get much worse than this Kit," Kit said to himself. He had no idea how wrong he was going to be.

30 minutes later it got worse. As Kit was rounding a corner he bumped straight into a dog in a business suit. "Watch where you're going young man!" snapped the dog. Kit looked up into the face of Witherspoon. Julius F. Witherspoon worked for the Federal Department of Justice Social Services Division and was tasked with ridding the airways of air hobos. It was a job that he relished and as an added bonus he had authorization to apprehend any juvenile offenders and take them to the nearest orphanage. He was well known back at the Freeport Home and more than a few of the children had been personally escorted to the Home by Witherspoon. At the time Kit didn't know exactly who he was, but that was all about to change. Witherspoon's hands grasped Kit on the shoulder and he stared into Kit's face. "Say, you're the runaway from Freeport. We've been looking for you. Men, I found him!"

Two large dogs stepped to flank Witherspoon, both had a look of maniacal glee on their faces. "Throw him in the truck and let's head back to Freeport," said Witherspoon. Witherspoon's two assistants moved closer to Kit but they didn't move fast enough, Kit unslung his still wet backpack and swung it up at Witherspoon's face. It connected and sent the agent reeling back as Kit ducked and rolled into the legs of one of Witherspoon's men, causing him to fall to the ground. Kit got to his feet and sprinted away for all he was worth. Witherspoon stood up and yelled, "AFTER HIM!" And the chase was on.

Kit ran down the narrow cobble-stone streets of the port town with Witherspoon's two men in hot pursuit. He had to dodge between several groups of people who were moving up and down the sidewalks. He narrowly missed hitting a large hippo and just missed getting creamed by a taxi cab. His pursuers were having a more difficult time negotiating the various obstacles in the way. The small cub used his natural quickness and agility to make sharp turns into alleys and over knocked-down trashcans and discarded boxes. The two chasers barely missed stumbling into a trashcan as they began to gain on Kit. Witherspoon on the other hand had returned to his truck and was driving on the other side of the block. He was scanning the alleys when he saw the boy. No one got the better of him, _no one. _He had a spotless record of apprehensions and no pint-sized orphan was going to get the better of him.

Kit continued to move down the alley until he noticed a truck stop at the other end of the alley and proceed to block off his escape. _Witherspoon _Kit thought as he searched for somewhere to go. He saw a fire escape going up the side of a four-story brick building and ran to it and began to climb toward the roof.

"He's going for the roof!" yelled one of his pursuers who immediately started climbing after Kit. The other pursuer ran around the building to the main entrance and headed up the stairs. Kit reached the roof and found himself in a bind. He was certain that the one of Witherspoon's goons was on his way up the stairs and the other was almost finished climbing the fire escape. He had to think fast. The head of one of his pursuers appeared and Kit turned and ran to the other side of the roof hoping that there was another fire escape. There wasn't. "No where to run kid," said his pursuer. A moment later the second pursuer exited the building onto the roof. Kit was trapped. "I got to hand it to you kid, you put up a good fight, but it's over," with that the two slowly advanced toward Kit. Kit backed up and looked over his shoulder and that's when he saw it. The two goons were startled when the little cub ran toward them screaming and they both instinctively backed up a step. Kit stopped and spun around and ran toward the edge of the building at full speed. He took a big step onto the short wall at the edge and jumped. The two pursuers stared in disbelief as the cub leaped over the side of the building. They ran to the edge and saw the cub fall.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kit yelled as he fell from the roof. He soared off the building in an arc and fell down into the bed of a trash truck, landing with a splat and sank into the mound of garbage. The stink assaulted his nostrils and he had to force himself not to throw up. The truck pulled away and turned a corner with its stowaway.

Down below, Witherspoon watched in amazement as the boy sailed off of the building and landed in the bed of a garbage truck. He then saw his two men on the roof and ordered them to get down at once. Witherspoon didn't want to admit it, but he was fairly certain that his impeccable record wasn't going to be impeccable much longer.

In the back of the truck, Kit struggled to free himself from the pile of garbage. Once he had extricated himself, he jumped off the back of the truck and headed for the docks. Once there he threw down his backpack and leaped into the water. Better to smell like saltwater than garbage. He swam to the dock in a repeat of earlier. Only this time someone was waiting for him. "Here grab on." Kit looked up and saw a teenage girl raccoon bending down and offering him her hand. He hesitated for a moment and then took the outstretched hand. She leaned back and helped pull him out.

"That was some stunt back there," she said, "I watched it and then I decided to follow and see what kind of a master criminal would be crazy enough to jump off a building."

"I'm not a criminal," Kit snapped, "They're orphan chasers."

"I know that. But in their eyes every orphan and hobo is a criminal. I'm Sadie and you are…?"

Kit looked at the teenager and noticed from her clothes that she looked as if she had been living on her own for a while. _She must be an orphan or a runaway too. _"I'm Kit, thanks for helping me up and I'm sorry for snapping at you."

"No problem kiddo but we'd better be going before those guys find us and we're both sorry. Now come on."

Kit followed the girl as she led him to a wooden building whose sign read: **Goose and Gander Air Cargo Service. "**I know the pilots here, they're a husband and wife and they're friendly to air hobos. I'm planning on heading out with them today and if you ask, they may have some room for you too," said Sadie. Kit thought it over quickly and decided that this was his best bet to get away from Witherspoon and his two goons. Besides, Albert had mentioned that air hobos would periodically join up. Kit told Sadie he would and the girl smiled and took him to the pilots. She stopped right before they entered the building and Sadie pointed to a symbol that was painted above the door. "See that? That is the sign that these pilots are friendly to air hobos. If you see that, then you know you're safe, otherwise you'll risk sneaking a flight from anti-air hobo pilots." Kit took in the sign and committed it to his memory: a red circle with a 'V' that was leaning on its side; the red circle enclosed a field of yellow. Sadie pushed open the door and the two of them entered.


	4. Geese and Goons

"_Courage is simply the willingness to be afraid and act anyway"-Dr. Robert __Anthony _

Three hours after his escape from Witherspoon, Kit and Sadie were airborne. The silver Conwing L-16 called the _Wild Geese _was being flown and navigated by Russell Ganderson and his wife Dolores. The two geese had been more than happy to make Kit's acquaintance and Dolores had made it blatantly obvious, "Sadie, tell me, where did you find this handsome little fellow?" Kit felt himself blush as the matronly goose craned here head down to get a closer look at him. "You are just the absolute cutest little guy I have seen in a long time!"

"Dolores! Quit embarrassing the lad can't you see he ain't no baby? He's a guy and a guy isn't cute! If anything a guy would be handsome, like me," Russell said with a grin.

"Well Dolores, Kit happened to make a real 'splash' so to say and I decided that he could use a helping hand," said Sadie. Sadie then went into the details of Kit's escape much to the amazement of the Gandersons. The middle-aged couple had three grown children and four grandchildren that they seldom saw so the addition of Kit to their flight manifest was more than a welcome. During the long flight from Tidewater to their destination of Marshall's Island, the Gandersons gave Kit some thorough lessons on navigation. They orientated him to their map, showed him how to work the compass, and to plot his flight plan. They also explained to him the proper radio etiquette as well as pointing out the controls on the control panel. He was beginning to enjoy this. Each lesson was bringing him one step closer to his goal of becoming a pilot.

"Russell, what's the legal age to get a pilot's license?" asked Kit.

"Well you're in luck Kit. Last year it was lowered from 21 to 18 and there's a learners permit starting at 16," answered Russell.

"Great, only 6 and a half years to go," Kit said.

The Gandersons landed their plane at the refueling station of Simpson's Reef. While there Kit pressed Sadie into telling him about the air hobo life. "Well Kit, air hobos haven't been around that long. There have always been drifters and other hobos, but ever since the market crashed back in 29' and the Dust Bowl hit the Midwest in Usland, people have gone on the road or the sea or the air to look for a better life. Some are criminals, others are runaways or orphans, and some are just down on their luck people looking for a new start," she said.

"How'd you get into this?" Kit asked.

"I got tired of all of the dust back home so I and my family went to the west coast, but everyone along the way looked at us like we we're bad luck. Work is scarce and I just decided that I didn't want to stand around in line at the local soup kitchen so I decided to travel. I always liked adventures so I thought I'd have one myself and here I am, been doing this about three years now."

"How old are you?"

"15. Next year I can legally drive, but I like airplanes more so maybe I'll see if I can get my pilot's license and start doing the Pacific runs. That'd be something for a little Mid-Western girl."

"I want to be a pilot but that's a long ways off. I'm thinking of staying an air hobo."

"How many flights have you been on Kit?"

"This is my third."

Sadie laughed and said, "Boy, you got a lot of learning to do and a lot of traveling to get going on."

"Hey Kit, get up here! You've got a job to do," bellowed Russell. Kit jogged up to the front of the L-16 and saw Russell motioning for him to take a seat as co-pilot, "Sit down and plot the rest of the trip."

"What? Me? What about Dolores?"

Dolores sauntered in and said, "I'm on my break and my break lasts till we get to Marshall's Island."

"Don't tell me everything we've been teaching you went in one ear and out the other. It's time to see if you've learned anything," said Russell as he fired up the engines. Kit grabbed the map and compass and located Simpson's Reef and Marshall's Island. He carefully plotted out their route and measured the distance. Next he calculated the azimuth and the estimated flying time.

"If we head out on 215 degrees at a speed of 160mph for 855 miles, we should make it to Marshall's Island in about 5 hours and 40 minutes," Kit said.

"I hope you're right Kit because I forgot how to navigate," Russell said with a wink to Kit. The final leg of the flight went by smoothly and the plane landed at Marshall's Island in the late afternoon. Kit and Sadie helped the Gandersons unload the _Wild Geese _and afterward, Kit insisted on treating them all for hamburgers at a nearby diner. Kit felt bad hoarding his money and decided he would repay the nice couple and Sadie for their help. Later in the evening Kit explained that he was going to stay on in Marshall's Island and the next morning he bid farewell to the Gandersons. He got a firm handshake from Russell and a kiss on the forehead from Dolores.

Sadie had decided to stay in Marshall's Island as well and the two of them spent the day exploring the bustling city. "Hey Kit, I don't want to sound nosey, but I noticed some green in your pocket. Are you sure you're not a master criminal?"

"Uh no, I'm just good at saving money, that's all," Kit answered.

Sadie smiled and said, "Sure. I got good eyes and I saw quite a lot of green in there."

Kit took a deep breath and explained to her that he had been left the money. He didn't go into details, but he made it clear that he wasn't a thief. Sadie looked at Kit as if considering him and then said, "OK," and left it at that. Later on Kit showed her the sketches of the air foil and told her that some 'people' had been working on it and that he had wound up in possession of their paperwork. He didn't want to mention that the 'people' were his parents for fear that he might lose it and start crying in front of the girl. Sadie looked closely at the sketches and noticed the one with the small figure standing on the air foil.

"This looks like you can ride it Kit. Maybe it's a kind of mini-airplane or a glider," Sadie said.

An idea began to form in Kit's mind; "Hey Sadie, is there any place around town that a guy can get his paws on some metal?"

Three days after his arrival in Marshall's Island, Kit was once again alone. Sadie had met up with another teenage air hobo, a young lion named Eddie whom she had known for quite a while, and the two of them had decided to hop a flight Honululia Island. Kit was invited to come along, but decided that he was going to stay and get to work on the air foil. had informed Kit in his letter that his parents were both aeronautical engineers and reasoned that perhaps Kit had that trait in his blood. Sadie had mentioned that there was an old scrap yard at the edge of town, so after they had parted ways, he made his way there.

"Well take care Master Criminal and see you around," Sadie said as she gave Kit a pat on his head.

"You too Sadie," Kit said and then went about reaching the scrap yard. Now Kit found himself sitting inside a large workshop with an array of tools and pieces of aluminum scattered on a table he was seated at. He had agreed to pay $20 to the yard's owner, a wily old goat named Ralph, he wasn't concerned with the cost. 20 bucks was a lot of money, but Ralph needed the money and Kit needed to make his air foil. He _had _to make the air foil. Ever since he had realized what the air foil was intended for he had thought and dreamed of using it. He imagined himself sailing across the skies and darting through the clouds. He reasoned that the only way it would work was as either a gliding device or it would be used in conjunction with a tow-rope and airplane. Whatever the case, it would be his to use. Kit had a small corner of the workshop set up as his living space. He had a make-shift bed and pillow and a clothesline. He had had to ditch the clothes he had worn while escaping from Witherspoon due to damages incurred while landing in the trash truck. Also, the smell of garbage hadn't quite left it. Now he was down to two changes of clothes and his backpack. The young cub had been working studiously for the past several hours on trying to shape a piece of aluminum into a wedge.

"Whacha making there Kit?" asked Ralph as he walked in to check on Kit, "Is that a boomerang like the ones them Downunda people use?"

Kit looked at the airfoil sketches and realized that it could be used as a boomerang, then said, "It's called an air foil Ralph."

"What's it for?"

Kit explained it's use to Ralph and the old yard owner shook his head and said, "You'd be liable to hurt yourself on it, but then again, what's a little adventure. Where'd you learn to do this sort of stuff?"

Kit thought for a moment then he said, "It's in my blood."

Ralph looked at the boy and thought how sad it was that a kid his age was forced to live on the streets. Too many orphaned kids and too many runaways these days.

During the next week Kit had made little progress with the airfoil. Despite his understanding of the sketches and the tools he had available he was still having trouble bending and assembling his project. He was deep in thought when he heard someone yelling. He strained his ears and heard it again. Someone was yelling and cursing. Then he heard Ralph yell out in pain. Kit ran to the workshop's entrance and looked at the yard's office. There was a car parked in front and a large hippo standing next to it. There was the sound of a struggle coming from the office. _Ralph is in trouble _Kit thought. He looked around the workshop and found a 12 inch wrench and grabbed it and ran out toward the office. He darted alongside the workshop and saw one of the office's side windows was open. He ran to the open window and peeked in. Inside a mean looking badger was punching Ralph in the stomach while a thin leopard looked on.

"Now Ralph, we're reasonable people and I know you're a reasonable person, but really we expected more of you. You are late with your rent money and to be honest 20 bucks is chump change," said the leopard.

"Look Vinny, I can get the money, just give me a few more days and I can get you the rest plus some extra," pleaded Ralph.

"From where Ralph? Who's gonna give you a loan? Bruno, hit him again, for me."

Bruno slammed his fist into Ralph's gut and the old goat doubled over. Kit gasped and reflexively threw his wrench at Bruno. Bruno screamed in rage as the wrench hit him upside the head. He staggered then fell to his knees. Kit jumped through the open window on his way to recover the wrench. However he was met by a pistol being leveled at his head by Vinny, "Nice try boy," then Vinny cocked the pistol's hammer and smiled. Kit stood frozen in fear as he stared down into the blackness of the revolver's barrel. He was so fixated that he didn't notice Bruno get up and take a swing at him. An excruciating pain came crashing down into the side of Kit's skull as the badger hit Kit with an open palm. Kit saw stars and then he passed out.

Kit came to just as the hippo had finished dowsing the inside of the office with a bottle of liquor. The hippo stopped, looked around, and took swag of the whiskey then dumped the rest of the bottle onto Ralph's desk.

"Lou! Quit screwin around and light this!" bellowed Vinny, "We got some more rent to collect and I don't feel like waiting around!"

"Yeah boss," answered Lou, who then turned and walked out of the building.

"Hey kid, if I was you I'd be running right about now. Consider me letting you live a favor," said Vinny.

Kit sat up and looked at the leopard and saw that he was lighting up a cigarette. Kit glanced over to Ralph and saw that the old goat was lying on the floor. "You-you're a monster!" Kit yelled.

"Boy, I'm no monster. I'm just a middleman. Besides if I was a monster I would've killed you myself, but I don't waste kids, it's not my style. Now be a good boy and grab the old goat and get him out of here."

"You're letting us live?" asked Kit nervously.

"That depends on you getting the two of you out of here. Besides, ol' Ralphie is still of some use to us. Now you should be moving," with that the leopard dropped his cigarette and walked out. Kit watched in horror as the flame ignited the liquor with a whoosh. He jumped up and ran to Ralph.

"RALPH! WAKE UP!" he cried, "We've got to go now!"

Ralph stirred and struggled to open his swollen eyelids. "Wha-what's happening Kit?"

"Never mind now! We got to go!" Kit yelled as he lifted Ralph's head and shoulders off of the floor. Ralph managed to stand and grabbed onto Kit's arm and let the cub guide him to the open window.

Several hours later, Kit sat inside the workshop with his arms wrapped around his legs. The boy had managed to get help from a nearby home and the fire department had arrived and put out the blaze. Ralph had been taken to the hospital but not before he warned Kit to hide. "Kit listen, forget about this ok? Those men are dangerous and they won't give us a second chance. Don't tell the cops anything just get out of here and I'll handle it."

"Who are they? Why did they hurt us?" Kit asked.

"They're with the mob. I owed them money and was overdue. That's why I charged you the 20 bucks. I'm sorry Kit."

Kit reached into his pocket and pulled out two twenties and stuffed them in Ralph's shirt. "I hope this'll help Ralph. Thanks for the stuff and I hope you'll be ok."

Ralph smiled and ruffled Kit's hair, "It'll take more than those three goons to get ol' Ralph. Now get out of here and watch out for dangerous people Kit. Marshall's Island can be a dangerous place."

Kit stood up and grabbed his belongings and his unfinished air foil and walked off toward town. He was tired and shaken and his head still throbbed from where Bruno had smacked him. He held back his sorrows and with a face full of grim determination, entered the town.


	5. Blood and Tears

"_We are made to persist. That is how we find out who we are."-Tobias Wolff_

_August 1935-_

It had been a month since the incident at Ralph's scrap yard and Kit was living on his own in a shanty neighborhood of Marshall's Island. The seedy district was the home to the down and out and other 'less reputable' elements of society. Kit remembered his first day in the rundown district: the taunts of some older street kids, whistles from young ladies who looked out on the streets from their balconies, drunken sailors of the Usland Navy, and various other people who went about their business. It was the kind of place that a person could disappear in. Kit knew he ran the risks of running into Vinny and his goons, but he decided to hide among the downtrodden. Who knew how long an orphan would remain free from the authorities if he was in a more upscale neighborhood? He found refuge in a dilapidated motel whose manager left him alone provided he didn't cause a ruckus and that he pay on time. Kit still had quite a bit of money left and had used some of it to purchase some more scrap metal and tools to use in completing his air foil. Whenever he went out, he was sure to carry a wrench as protection after he had been mugged by an older street kid. Kit managed to get away, but not after getting a bloody lip in the process. On one of his forays to the better part of town he had been run off by the cops after a wealthy couple had pointed him out and mistook him as a thief. The shanty town wasn't all bad though. Kit managed to make some casual acquaintances with some of the workers and even did a couple of odds jobs for a few pilots. He had flown on two short cargo runs in the past month and had managed to find and hitch rides with different pilots who were returning to Marshall's Island. Presently Kit was slowly wakening and had to shield his eyes from the sunlight that streamed in through the thin curtains. He let out a yawn and rolled out of bed. He went to the cracked sink and turned on the ever-dripping faucet and splashed his face with cold water. Kit looked into the mirror and contemplated the image that stared back at him. A tired young bear cub wearing a sleeveless white undershirt with rings under his eyes, a healing lip, and a shock of fur sticking up in the front greeted him. He noticed that he looked thinner than he was at the Home. A lack of consistent meals coupled with living by his wits had contributed to his weight loss. He was amazed that this cub in the mirror was him. He could imagine the surprise that the other kids at the home would have if they saw how he now looked. _The other kids, I wonder how Rhett and Trevor and the others are doing. _The thought of the home and his friends sent a pang of loneliness through him. After all, that life was all he had known until the past few weeks. He pushed the thought aside and went about brushing his teeth and cleaning up. In the past month and a half that he had been gone, Kit had forced himself to grow up. He had to live on his own, find work, dodge the authorities and street thugs, and make do from day to day. All of this had contributed to Kit's transformation from cared-for child to a street-wise orphan. He made himself adapt to his new life through necessity. It wasn't the best life but it was _his _life. "Well me, today is another day," Kit said to the cub in the mirror, "Maybe we can find a flight somewhere ."

Two hours later Kit was seated in the copilot's seat next to Reggie "Raging Reggie' Bullworth. The brawny bull pilot was one of the people that Kit did odd jobs for. The pilot was clad in a faded brown bomber jacket and a pair of cargo pants. Kit was lucky enough to catch a flight with Raging Reggie as the pilot had been about to leave with his cargo of tires en route to New Fedora. "Glad you showed up Kit. I could sure use the help with the tires."

"No problem Reggie," said Kit. Kit had insisted on plotting the trip and Reggie had kindly obliged. He only planned to stay in New Fedora for a day then he would hop another flight back to Marshall's Island and continue on the air foil. He was pleased on his progress and he hoped to have it ready for testing by early September.

Thirty minutes from their destination the first shots strafed the plane. "What was that?" said Kit in alarm.

"AIR PIRATES!" yelled Reggie. Kit glanced at him and watched the bull grab a pair of sunglasses from his jacket pocket and put them on. Then with a look of supreme confidence the pilot put the Corvair 120 cargo plane into a steep dive. Reggie turned to Kit, smiled and said, "I sure hope you don't get air sick!" then he let out a roaring laugh and pulled up seconds before the plane hit the water. Kit's stomach felt as if it had left his body as the plane plunged toward the waters below. He gripped his seat and let out a sigh of relief as the plane leveled out just thirty from the water's surface. Reggie quickly turned his plane 45 degrees to the left and looked out his window. A tri-winged air pirate plane slammed into the writhing seas as its pilot floated down by parachute. "Splash one for Raging Reggie!" Reggie yelled. Kit looked to the pilot and cheered him on. "Don't get too excited Kit, there's still a few more of em' left." Sure enough, three more fighters raced on the heels of the cargo plane, their guns blazing.

"What are we gonna do now Reggie?" Kit asked.

"Hopefully out maneuver them and pray to God that the Navy has some planes on patrol out this way," Reggie answered Kit as he began to call in the situation to the Navy. "Mayday mayday mayday! This is the _Toro _calling. I am approximately 25 minutes North-Northwest of New Fedora on a bearing of 115 degrees. I am being engaged by air pirates over."

A few seconds passed then an official sounding voice came on, "Roger _Toro _this New Fedora Naval Airfield. We read you loud and clear and have two interceptors en route to you."

"Roger that!" Reggie turned to kit and said, "Don't worry Kit, help is on the way."

Kit felt nervous, but exhilarated at the same time. Here he was, right smack in the middle of a life or death situation with air pirates. Adrenalin coursed through his body and he turned to Reggie and said, "Is there anything I can do Reggie?"

Reggie contemplated the boy's question as he took the plane up to one thousand feet, then he said to Kit, "Go to the closet behind you and grab me Big Bertha."

Kit jumped out of his seat and went to the closet. He opened it and saw Big Bertha. He knew it just by looking at it. He grabbed the enormous elephant gun and a box of heavy shells and went to Reggie. "Here you go Reggie!"

"Good, now open the breach and load it, then get ready to take the wheel when I say."

Kit loaded the weapon and handed it to Reggie who had by now executed a sharp turn and was working his way behind an air pirate plane. "I need you to turn us until we have him in our sights. I'm going to show them not to mess with us." Kit grabbed the wheel and turned the plane until it had gotten behind the lagging air pirate. Reggie slid open his window, leaned out and yelled to Kit, "OK just a bit more, a little more, right there! Steady now," Reggie got the plane in his sights and fired from less than one hundred feet. The elephant gun buckled against his shoulder. His first shot missed, but his second caught the plane in its tail. Deprived of its tail the plane began a rapid descent toward the water. Reggie grabbed the wheel from Kit and took his plane down and watched the disabled fighter ditch into the water. He looked at Kit and said, "You mess with the bull, you get the horns." Kit smiled at the pilot and then he ducked to the side as bullets ripped through the ceiling and into the cockpit. Reggie howled in pain as a bullet caught him in the thigh. Blood spurted onto the floor and the pilot fought through his pain to keep the plane from crashing. Instinctively Kit grabbed the controls and leveled the plane out. More bullets hit the plane and the right side engine gave out. Kit was forced to land the badly damaged sea plane on the water. Reggie, who was in too much pain, watched as the boy managed to safely land the crippled plane. "Good job Kit, good job."

"_Toro, _this is Lieutenant Barrigan , call sign Seahawk One-Six out of New Fedora. We see you and the pirates. We are engaging them now. A rescue ship is on the way over."

Reggie responded, "Roger that SeaHawk One-Six," then he passed the headset to Kit and said, "Listen in while I bandage myself up. Kit did as told and watched Reggie tear off a piece of his shirt and use it to make a tourniquet over his wound. Gunfire erupted over head and the two of them looked out of the cockpit window and up toward the sky. To P-41s approached from the west, guns blazing. The two remaining air pirates fired off a burst at the Navy planes, then turned tail and fled with the Seahawks in pursuit.

It was early evening when the Kit and Reggie made it to port. The Navy had sent out a ship to tow the crippled aircraft and its two crewmembers in. A doctor had been assigned to accompany the crew and he immediately took charge of Reggie. The muscular bull managed to stay conscious the entire time and seemed to be in good spirits despite his wounds, although he was dismayed that he would be grounded for about a month due to his injuries and the damages to the _Toro. _

"Can you believe this Kit? The doc says I can't fly for at least a month! How am I supposed to make money?"

"At least you're alive Reggie," Kit said and then added with a smile, "You were awesome out there!"

"Thanks Kit, but I couldn't have been that awesome. After all I did take one in the leg and my plane is in need of repair."

"I still think you did great. Especially with the elephant gun, I bet that air pirate never saw that coming!"

"I think you're right about that one! They don't call me Raging Reggie for nothing! And you did great too Kit. Thanks to you we made a safe landing!" Reggie said and began to laugh. Laughter is, after all, the best medicine.

With Reggie grounded in New Fedora, Kit was forced to find a ride back to Marshall's Island. Luckily, there was a Navy transport heading there in two days and Kit was allowed to tag along for the ride. It was against Navy regulations for a juvenile civilian to fly on a Navy plane, but an exemption was made by the naval station's commander. Kit spent the rest of his time in New Fedora exploring the streets of the sea port as well as the aircraft on the flight line. His questions to the pilots were met with enthusiasm and he was allowed into the cockpit of a Seahawk fighter. The Warthog pilot was more than happy to show off his plane to the inquisitive boy. Kit donned the pilot's helmet, grabbed the controls, and indulged in a fantasy in which he went toe to toe against the air pirates.

Early the next day, Kit went and saw Reggie and let him know that he'd hope to see him back in Marshall's Island.

"Be sure to tell everybody that Raging Reggie WILL be back and let them know about our little adventure OK? Especially the part with the elephant gun," Reggie said as he shook Kit's hand.

"Sure will Reggie, you take care and get the _Toro _back in the air," said Kit.

An hour and a half later the PBY Catarina transport cruised over the open ocean at 5,000 feet. Kit sat in the cargo area of the plane and was being shown the .50 caliber gun systems that the plane had as defenses. There were two gun systems on this model and one was at each side of the transport. They we're manned by a hyena private named Holler and a duck corporal named Webber. Up in the cockpit was Captain Meecham and his tiger co-pilot, Lieutenant Benton. The Stork pilot had allowed Kit to sit up front for a while and watch them fly the plane. Then he encouraged the cub to give the two gunners something to do and show him the weapons systems. After hearing about Kit's actions in landing the disabled plane and his bravery in the face of the air pirates, allowed Kit to fire off the .50 cal. Kit needed a little help in pulling the .50 cal's charging handle and Private Holler was more than happy to assist. "OK Kit, the Ma Deuce has a little bit of a kick to it. It'll jump and rattle a bit in your hands so be sure to hold it tight and keep your arms close to your body when you fire," said the Hyena.

"Sure thing," said Kit who then pressed down on the butterfly-shaped trigger. The gun immediately came to life as a burst of armor-piercing rounds shot off into the sky. "WAHOOO!" Kit yelled as he fired off the weapon. He felt like he could take on every air pirate in the skies on his own.

"Hey Holler, make sure he keeps his bursts controlled so he doesn't melt the barrel," said the sour-faced duck.

"Yes Corporal Webber. You heard him Kit? Keep your trigger squeeze to a 5-8 round burst."

"Gotcha," said Kit who went back to firing at imaginary air pirates. After he had expended 60 plus rounds he sat back down in the cockpit and paid close attention to the pilot and copilot. Once the plane had landed at Marshall's Island, Kit parted from the Navy crew and headed back toward the motel where he stayed.

Three days later a storm hit the island bringing with it torrential rains and high winds. Kit sloshed his way down an alley to the motel with his head down in order to keep the rain from his eyes. Unfortunately he didn't see the large lion until he bumped into him. "Someone looks like they don't know how to pay attention," said the lion. Kit looked up and saw a glint of malice in the lion's eyes.

"Sorry I didn't see you there I swear," said Kit

"Hey Jeff, this is that little kid who always hangs out with the pilots. Word is he has money," said an equally large ram, "Doug and I have been keeping an eye out on him."

"Yeah Jeff, Doyle and I noticed that he goes and buys stuff and does odd jobs for the pilots," said the short crocodile named Doug.

Kit found himself being encircled by the three teenagers and prepared himself for what he knew was coming. He'd been in situations like this before and knew that he'd have to use the element of surprise in order to make in out. Without warning Jeff lashed out with his foot and hit Kit in the chest, knocking him back into Doyle. The ram ripped Kit's backpack off of him and threw Kit to Doug who held him in a vice-like grip.

"What's in the bag Doyle?" asked Jeff.

Doyle rifled through the back pack and found Kit's unfinished air foil, "Take a look at this boomerang guys," then he tossed it to Jeff.

"What do you have this for?" Jeff asked as he fiddled with the air foil.

"Put that back!" Kit yelled in protest.

"Or else what little boy? Is this special to you?" the lion asked mockingly.

"If it's special then show him how we treat special things Jeff," said Doug.

"No!" screamed Kit as he jabbed an elbow into Doug's stomach knocking the wind out of him. Doug let go of Kit and slumped to his knees. Kit charged Jeff and jumped onto him and knocked him down. "Gimmie that back!" Kit roared and he struggled to take back his air foil. Just then Doug smacked Kit off of Jeff with his tail. The little crocodile then yanked Jeff to his feet and the two of them were joined by Doyle.

"Doug, hold the kid up. Doyle, go ahead and show the kid why you're a ram," said Jeff

Doyle grinned and charged Kit and slammed into his torso horn first. The curled horns hit Kit like a sledge hammer and knocked the wind out of him. Kit went limp in Doug's arms. Doug then held Kit's head up for Jeff. The lion backhanded Kit and said, "Open your eyes I've got something to show you." Kit did as he was told and watched in horror as Jeff broke the air foil against the pavement. The device busted in two with a metallic snap.

"No!" Kit whimpered as he watched his months-long project be destroyed. _I was so close _he thought. Kit then felt hands in his pocket. Doug pulled out Kit's wallet and tossed it to Jeff.

Jeff opened his eyes in amazement as he saw the amount of money Kit had and said, "Where did you get all this? You've been stealing in our turf? Or are you a little rich runaway? Doesn't matter, you have now paid our turf crossing fee so you're free to go. Boys, let's go have some fun!" The ram and crocodile roared with laughter and gathered up Kit's belongings and walked off, leaving the barely conscious cub lying on his back in the rain.

An hour later Kit arrived at the motel and he was confronted by the gruff Bear manager. "What happened to you? You look like you got into a fight with a truck and lost," quipped the manager.

"Something like that," Kit answered as he began to drag himself up the stairs toward his third floor room.

"Just a reminder kid, rent for the week is due in two days."

"Yeah, OK," Kit said as he went up the stairs. _I just got robbed, had my air foil broken, and got jumped. I have no money _Kit thought.

Kit lay inside the bathtub soaking in the warm water. He laid there with a warm wet cloth over his eyes and forehead and contemplated his situation. He had no money, had his air foil ruined, his backpack stolen, and was facing eviction in two days. Things were looking bad. He supposed he could find a place to stay with a friendly pilot or even get off of Marshall's Island, but then what? What had he actually accomplished since he had runaway? He left behind a secure environment, three square meals a day, a couple of friends, and school. Now he was in a rundown motel, he was broke, and had no friends to turn to. The pilots he worked for were just business acquaintances and besides was it even realistic to stay an air hobo? Where was the future in that? Of course he had his freedom and he felt that being on his own would make him a better person in the long run. After all, he was living his own life. There was no one to tell him what to do, no one to answer too, he was his own boss. If he went back to the orphanage either by choice or against his will then everything he had done since would be for nothing and he'd have to surrender his independence. If he had a permanent job he would be responsible to his employers. On his own he had no obligations. It was an adult's world and they made the rules. A kid like him would end up being put in his place or taken advantage of. _That's not going to happen to me! I'm my own boss and I'm not letting anyone stand in my way of living my own life! _Kit yanked the cloth off of his face, sat up and said out loud, "No one's going to stop me from living me dreams!"

The next day Kit had gathered his few belongings and the air foil sketches and placed them in a bag he had got from a grocer. He was leaving the motel today. He had planned to walk right out the door and not look back. Unfortunately the manager had come in early and noticed Kit leaving. "Where are you going?"

Kit stopped in his tracks and said, "Just down to the docks."

"Really now? Planning on doing some laundry while you're there?" the manager said as he pointed out a shirt that Kit had sticking out of his bag. "It looks like you might be checking out. That'sOK kid, so as long as you got the rent for this week then you're free to go."

Kit was in a bind. The manager was on to him and he had nothing for rent. He could lie to him and say he'd be back later in the day, he could run, or he could tell the truth and hope the manager would give him some leniency. ", see the bruises I got?" Kit said motioning to the bruises he had received from Jeff and his cronies, "I got mugged and robbed."

"I thought as much," was the manager's reply.

"I have no money and I was hoping you'd go easy on me," Kit said with a look of self-pity on his face.

The manager's face lightened up as he saw the little cub's miserable state, then he said, "I'm going to let you slide this once kid, but if you come back here and pull this sob story stuff again then I am going to bust your chops. Now go on, get out of here."

Kit smiled, said thanks and headed out the door. The manager watched the cub leave and he smiled a grim smile and said to himself, "Good luck kid, you'll need it."

The work situation at the docks was not good. In response to higher prices and lower wages, the pilots and dock workers had gone on strike. Kit was greeted by several dozen pilots and longshoremen milling around with pickets and signs. A couple of Marshall's Island policemen stood across from the striking workers and a few reporters were on hand to cover the events. A flier was posted to the side of a closed office and Kit noticed that it stated that the strike would go on until a guaranteed wage increase and fuel credit would be extended to the pilots. The flier went on to explain that Khan Industries was behind the price hike and aimed to rid the skies of independent fliers and create a transportation monopoly in the Pacific. Seeing no chance for employment here, Kit left and headed into downtown. He tried looking for work at a couple of diners and as a bellhop in a hotel, but was chased off . He managed to find a place to sleep in an abandoned cannery building and had to resort to using a makeshift rod to catch his food.

A week after he had left the motel, Kit was walking along a downtown street with a day's wages he had earned by helping to deliver furniture to a wealthy couple. Every now and then men would go and seek out people who were out of work and hire them for the day. The jobs were usually strenuous and long and adults were preferred but Kit had managed to persuade an employer to hire him for the day on account that he was young and in better shape than the older job hopefuls. The employer laughed jovially at the young boy's attempt at a sales pitch and hired him on the spot, much to the chagrin of several of the hopefuls. Now that he was done for the day he could afford a decent meal and maybe even the newest edition of _Flyboy. _

Kit passed by a restaurant and happened to look into the establishment's large window. At the table nearest the window sat a family of bears, a father, mother, a daughter, and a little boy about his age. The family sat talking and laughing with one another. The little cub seemed to burp after he had a drink of his soup and his father reached over and gently patted him on his back. The father and son looked into one another's eyes and seem to communicate something without speaking. Kit continued to watch the happy family as they enjoyed their meal together. In his mind he imagined himself in the place of the boy and pretended that the boy's parents were his own. He imagined what it would be like to actually be a part of something, _a family. _He wondered what it would be like to do the things that normal people with families did. He imagined eating dinner with his parents, having his mother tuck him in at night and kiss him softly on the forehead, he pictured his father taking him fishing, and of playing with his little sister. As he stared, a smile formed on Kit's face. Suddenly the little girl turned her head and saw Kit staring at them. Her parents and brother followed her gaze and saw the disheveled bear cub looking in at them. Feeling their eyes on him, Kit turned away and ran off with tears forming in his eyes. He made his way back to the cannery and flopped down on the floor. His misery grew inside him and he struggled to keep it at bay, but it was no use. All of the loneliness and sorrow that he had kept inside finally broke through, coming out in loud sobs and a gush of uncontrolled tears. He curled into a ball and wept for the parents he never knew, for the friends he left behind at the Home, wept for the family life that he had been denied, and most of all he wept for himself. He was tired, miserable, and alone in the world. He had no one to love him and no one to love. He continued to cry unabated for several more minutes and finally was able to pull himself together. Deciding fresh air would help, Kit stood and went outside and sat up against the wall of the cannery. He drew his legs in and hugged them against his chest to keep warm from the cool sea breeze. As he sat there he gazed up into the night sky and stared at the stars. He imagined that somewhere up there were his parents and that maybe they were watching him. _It's not fair! Why did it have to be me? Why am I an orphan? There are millions of other kids out there and they all have families and homes of their own and it ended up being me as an orphan. I have no family, no home, no nothing! What did I do to deserve this! Why me? _These thoughts raged through the cub and filled him with a sense of rebelliousness that bordered on spite. "OK, if this is how my life is going to be then fine! I'm going to do it my way! No family, no home, fine! I am not letting anything stand in my way anymore! You hear that World? It's me against you and I WILL win. I'm going to be somebody someday no matter what you do to try to stop me! This is my life and I'm going to make the most of it and no one is getting in my way! I'll succeed or die trying!" Kit was now on his feet staring into the sky with a look of satisfaction of his face. All the sorrows that had filled him were gone and were replaced with a feeling of self assurance. He was going to make it, he was going to rebuild his air foil, and he'd make a name for himself. Nothing was going to stop him from succeeding.


	6. Community

"_Community cannot long feed on itself, it can only flourish with the coming of others from beyond: their unknown and undiscovered sisters and brothers"-Howard Thurman_

_Late November 1935-_

In the 9 weeks since his return to Marshall's Island from New Fedora, Kit had matured considerably. Although he was still a 10 year old he felt like he had aged quickly. He was still living in the abandoned cannery, but he was back to making runs with cargo pilots and doing odd jobs for them. The strike had ended three weeks after it had started with both sides giving in to each other. Khan Industries had suffered a very rare set back when the Federal Government stepped in and invoked anti-trust laws. Rumor on the street was that Shere Khan had purposely caused the strike to see how far independent businesses would go if faced by pressure from larger competitors. Kit however paid it little attention. He was far too busy with his work. He had traveled to many of the smaller islands and even as far as Formosa Island in the Far East. He had yet to go to Cape Suzette or to Usland itself however.

Kit had used his earnings to keep himself fed, buy some clothes, and acquire metal to work on reconstructing his air foil. He was slowly but surely making progress on his project. Over the past few weeks he had laid low to avoid being spotted by the police for fear of being apprehended as a truant. The dock workers were considerate enough to turn their heads although he still didn't trust any of them. Reggie was back in the air and Kit would occassionly make runs with the bull. "It's going to take a lot more than some air pirates to take ol' Raging Reggie out," he said to Kit upon his triumphant return to Marshall's Island. All in all, Kit felt that the past 9 weeks were a success. He had gotten himself back on his feet and had stopped feeling sorry for himself. No one was going to feel sorry for him, so why should he feel sorry for himself? He reasoned.

"Well hello there Master Criminal, long time no see."

"Sadie!" Kit said joyously as he looked up from his desk on the ground floor of the cannery.

"The one and only, I heard you were still hanging around here," said Sadie.

"When did you get back?" Kit asked.

"Yesterday, Eddie and I swung by here last night but we didn't see you so we decided to try again today."

"Yeah we heard on the street that you were doing some work around the docks so we checked there and were told you were living here and I told Sadie we should check it out," said Eddie the lion.

"Glad you found me!" Kit exclaimed, "I had to find work and a place to stay so here I am."

Kit recounted the story of the past few months to the two teenagers. He told them about his time with Ralph and of the visit from Vinnie and the Goons. He told them about his odd-jobs on cargo planes, his adventure with Raging Reggie, and the destruction of his first air foil. He was careful to omit the episode of self-pity he went through.

"Wow Kit, sounds like you've been going through a lot since I left you. You do look a little thinner too," Sadie remarked. She then told Kit about her and Eddie's travels to Honululia and how they stayed there so Eddie could enjoy the waves, 'the surf is way better up there than here' said the lion. The two also ended up on a plane that took them to the frigid coast of Thembria and how they had to deal with page after page of official government forms that seemed to serve no purpose other than wasting their time. "Those Thembrians are suspicious of everyone and everything and they have this crazy fixation on official forms. They even had some short, speech-impaired officer show up and ask us if we've heard of him. They're some weird people."

"I've never been to Thembria before," said Kit.

"You're not missing anything, just snow, snow, and more snow. I got a bad cold from being in that icebox," added Eddie.

"So this is the Master Criminal's lair," Sadie said as she took in the empty cannery, "Needs a woman's touch."

"Well then woman, get to cleaning it!" said Eddie who burst out laughing.

Sadie smacked the lion upside the head and said, "I thought you were a hard working man Eddie, so why don't you do some hard work."

Kit laughed as the two went back and forth with insults then he said, "You're more than welcome to stay here in my _lair_ if you want. Just don't mind the bugs."

"Actually Kit were going to be heading to the other side of the island. We're going to go and see Grammy and Gummer," Sadie said.

"Who's Grammy and Gummer?" asked Kit.

"Grammy Gumpshin and Gummer are the original air hobos Kit, they're the real deal," said Eddie.

Sadie explained to Kit that Grammy and Gummer were indeed the first of the air hobos. Back in the early 20s the two had decided that life on the old homestead was getting dull so they sold their house and hopped a train to the West Coast in search of adventure. It wasn't long before the two train hobos climbed aboard a plane headed for the Yukon and in turn became the original air hobos. They made a habit of getting to know pilots and persuading them to take them all over the Pacific. When they didn't find a friendly pilot they resorted to stowing away. Along their travels, the two met other hobos and runaways and told them about their airborne adventures. The few they initially told caught on and spread the word about the new type of hobo life. Gradually a new sub-culture had formed and with it an unwritten set of guidelines had developed that laid out the basics of air hobo life. Within a span of three years the number of air hobos had grown exponentially and the government had began to take notice. Soon pilots became opposed to what they termed as 'freeloading baggage' and several instances of violence were perpetrated against a few of the hobos. However, most pilots were largely indifferent toward the hobos and viewed them as something like a minor curiosity and nothing more. Fortunately, there were a decent number of pilots who enjoyed the colorful cast of air hobos and would inscribe a circle and triangle symbol on their aircraft to let the air hobos know they were welcome. As a rule, the air hobos offered help to the pilots in exchange for their flights. "I'm not surprised you haven't heard of them though Kit. They don't fly as much anymore due to their age and health, but they occasionally do and we heard that they set up shop on the far side of Marshall's Island about 2 months ago. You probably missed them when you were stuck in New Fedora."

"Maybe so," said Kit who then added, "It's getting late in the day so you two are more than welcome to stay here tonight if you want."

"Sounds like a good idea Sadie, I'm feeling a little tired and hungry," said Eddie.

"For being an active person you sure are lazy Eddie," said Sadie, "But what the heck, will stay here tonight but we want you to come with us Kit."

"Really?" said Kit, "What am I going to do there?"

"Meet Grammy and Gummer and more air hobos. We tend to stick together and it'd be a change of scenery from the city. How about it?" asked Sadie.

Kit thought it over quickly and decided that a change of scenery would do him some good, "OK, I'll go with you, but I am going to bring some of my stuff," he said as he pointed to his airfoil.

"Is that the airfoil?" Sadie asked.

"Sure is and I should be finished in a few of weeks so long as I can work out some bugs."

"What's an airfoil?" asked Eddie who looked as if he was about to nod off.

Kit smiled and said, "You'll see."

The next morning the trio left the city of Marshall's Island and headed east toward a smaller settlement outside of the city's limits. Kit had gathered his few belongings and left his cannery hideout behind. The three kids walked through downtown, picking up food to snack on, and continued on to their destination. Along the way something caught Kit's eye; it was today's edition of the _Marshall's Island Herald. _It wasn't the paper as much as the photo and accompanying headline on the left hand column of the front page that caught his eye. Kit slipped a nickel to the newspaper vendor and took a look at the article and picture.

_Christmas comes early for Freeport Children_

_Freeport-Whoever said that the spirit of Christmas has become lost in these troubled financial times, hasn't met 10 year old Rhett Swift and 9 year old Trevor Spooner. The two boys who are residents of the Freeport Home for Children here, have found a way to give back to their fellow children by bringing Christmas a few weeks early…_

The article went on to state that Rhett and Trevor had started off with $100 given to them by an 'anonymous donor' which they used to purchase goods and supplies to produce baked goods and crafts to sell to the townspeople. The two then approached several local businesses and community organizations to secure pledges from them which they later used to sponsor a float for the recent Freeport Founder's Day Festival. With their entry in the parade, the boys had garnered much attention from the townspeople and had been given donations and grants totaling over $600. Freeport mayor Timothy Stalling went on to congratulate Rhett and Trevor for forging stronger civic ties between the Home and the city as well as their hard work to raise the much needed money for the Home. The mayor awarded plaques as well as the Keys to the City to both Rhett and Trevor. _"These fine young men are wonderful examples of people coming together during these tough times to make the community a better place," _said Mayor Stalling. When asked what the money was going to, Trevor answered, _"We are in the process of buying new text books and school supplies as well as more athletic equipment and money for future field trips. We also want to be able to have the Home work more closely with the city in order to open up people's eyes to the lives of us here at the home." _Rhett was asked about the anonymous donor, to which he replied, _"A really good guy told me to go and do something good for the kids here and I thought that we could raise awareness for orphans and give them the tools to succeed in school and in the community. I think that this is something that he would be happy with." _

Kit looked at the picture of Rhett and Trevor, who were dressed in button up shirts with bow ties, and receiving their awards, and he couldn't help but feel proud of them. He smiled and thought to himself, _Yes Rhett, I am happy with you guys._

"Hey Kit are you going to stand there and read the entire paper, or are you going to come along?" chided Sadie.

"Oh, yeah I was justa, just looking at it real quick," Kit said as he folded up the paper and placed it with the rest of his things, "OK lets go."

The trio had a ways to go to reach their destination. The settlement was an hour and a half walk from the city limits, but with the company of the two teenagers, the time went by fast. Kit was interested in meeting the original air hobos. He honestly didn't know what to expect. Grammy and Gummer sounded like they may be older people and Kit guessed they must be in their 50s. He wondered how many other air hobos were gathered at the settlement. Were there a lot of kids? Were any runaway orphans like him? What were the odds of Witherspoon and his cronies finding the settlement?

It was early in the afternoon when they reached the air hobo camp. The camp was centered in a clearing surrounded by trees that was about 200 meters from the beach. Kit estimated that the camp was a little over 100 square meters in size and had a few rundown buildings including an old Quonset hut within its premises. There were clotheslines strung up between the buildings and a couple of fire pits situated near the middle of the encampment. A few air hobos were lounging around the camp talking amongst themselves. Soon they were noticed and a young brown dog with ginger hair came up to greet them. The greeting teenager wore a blue and white striped shirt with a purple vest and a smile on his face. "Eddie! How's it been? How was the surf?"

"Good, waves were about 6 to 8 feet. You should've come along Roy Boy."

"Hey Sadie, good to see you!" exclaimed Roy Boy, "Who's the kid?"

"Good to see you too Roy Boy, this is our friend Kit, Sadie said as she pat Kit on the shoulder. "Kit, this is Roy Boy Rudder, he's a friend of ours."

"Pleased to meet you," Kit said as he extended his hand to the teenage dog. The teenager shook his hand then said, "Come with me. I'll take you to see Grammy and Gummer and then you can meet the rest of the bunch."

The trio followed Roy Boy into the camp and soon they were brought to the far end of the camp where a pair of elderly bears sat in the shade of the trees.

"Grammy, Gummer look who's here," said Roy Boy to the pair.

"Well I'll be, if it isn't Sadie and Eddie," said a matronly grey bear in a pink dress, "And I see you found a new friend."

"Huh? Uh what? What's going on?" said the old brown male bear, "What did I miss?" asked the old bear.

"Quite a lot Gummer, you were asleep…again," said Granny.

Gummer squinted his eyes at the three kids and then said, "Ah, it's you two and I see you found a tag along. Well what's he call himself?"

"Granny, Gummer, this is Kit. He's going to be staying with us for a while, if that's OK with you," said Sadie.

"Of course it is child," answered Granny who then peered closer at the young cub, "How old are you Kit?"

"10 and a half ma'am,"

"Ma'am? Why I haven't been called ma'am in ages. Child everyone here calls me Granny Gumpshin or Granny for short."

"Pleased to meet you Granny," Kit said shyly.

"And this here is Gummer, my husband."

Gummer reached out his hand for Kit to shake, Kit took the hand and was surprised at how strong a grip the old bear had, "Sonny boy, you need to put some strength into that handshake," the old bear laughed, then added, "You're a tad small for your age. It looks like you could use some food in your stomach. Roy Boy, make sure these kids get fed."

"Sure will Gummer," answered Roy Boy.

"Well Kit, I hope you will be nice enough to grace our humble abode with your presence," said Granny who smiled warmly at Kit.

Kit blushed a little and said, "If you'll have me."

"Awww isn't he so cute Gummer?"

"Yeah, every little kid is cute to you dear," Gummer replied with faux sarcasm."

"Don't mind grumpy here," Granny said nodding toward Gummer, "He's always like that when he wakes up. And before he eats, and after he eats, and when he's wide awake, come to think of it he's always grumpy," Granny said and giggled.

Gummer frowned at his wife and then said, "Boy you have no idea what I have to put up with everyday," and with that he nodded in Granny's direction then closed his eyes and rested his chin on his chest.

"C'mon you guys, let's see about some food," said Roy Boy.

After their lunch, Kit and his friends were led into the Quonset hut and were shown to an area with some make shift bedding. "Make yourselves at home guys. If you need anything just find me," said Roy Boy who then went back outside. Kit had laid his meager belongs on a make shift mattress and flopped himself down. Within a minute he was sound asleep.

Kit's first few weeks in the air hobo commune went by as lazily as the tropical breeze. It was already mid-December and Kit realized that the kids at the Freeport Home would be getting ready for Christmas. The holidays were always a bittersweet time for the kids. Many had been taken away from their families and others like himself had never known their families. It was a time where one would reflect on their station in life and notice that he or she wasn't like 'normal' kids. Normal kids had families of their own to enjoy the holidays with, whereas the orphaned only had one another. One of the brighter spots was that the kids became closer to one another during this time. The kids would tend to go the extra mile to include others into their friendship circles and for a brief period of time a bully like Larry and a picked-on kid like Trevor would put aside their differences and be civil to one another. Of course, once the holidays were over, the bullied kids would once again be fair game. The Home would use its funds and whatever donations it received from the community to ensure that each child was able to receive gifts. Kit smiled when he thought about the money that Rhett and Trevor had managed to raise and was pleased that the two were looking to give back to their fellow children. It was nice to know that the spirit of giving was still around in these troubled times. Kit had gone into town with Roy Boy and a middle-aged lamb named Julia to buy supplies. While in town he used some of the money he had left to buy Sadie and Eddie gifts as well as to purchase some extra scrap for his near finished airfoil. He hoped to begin testing the device right after the New Year.

"See this boys?" said Julia who pointed to a poster advertising a New Year's Eve fireworks show, "You ought to hear what some of the guys are planning for this."

"What's that Julia?" asked Roy Boy.

"Now Roy Boy, I am surprised that you haven't caught wind of it yet seeing as you seem to know all of the gossip."

"Oh, you mean the fire flight that ol'Bushwah and Runway are planning?"

"That would be it," answered Julia.

"What's the fire flight?" asked Kit.

"Those two yahoos are planning on getting some daredevil pilots they know to fly them straight through the middle of the fireworks show," replied Julia.

"Yeah Kit, they know a few guys who fly crop dusters at the sugarcane fields and are going to do some barnstorming right through the explosions!" Roy Boy said excitedly as he spread his arms and pantomimed flying through the blasts.

"Wow, that sounds fantastic," said Kit, "Is there any way I can get to do that?"

"That depends on Bushwah and Runway being able to get the pilots. You haven't talked to them yet have you?" asked Roy Boy.

"No, I haven't seen much of them since they got here the other day."

"Those two show up at random then disappear for weeks on end then reappear. You have to catch them at the right time and the right place," said Julia.

On the way back to the camp, Kit decided that he was going to talk to Bushwah and Runway about their New Year's plans. He wanted to be part of it.

As soon as Kit returned to the camp, he wasted no time in finding Bushwah and Runway. The two air hobos were engaged in a game of horseshoes near the middle of the camp.

The blue-shirted dog named Runway carefully took aim and then drew his left arm back then forward and released his horseshoe. The shoe sailed up in an arc and came to a couple of feet before the stake. It landed and flopped over and came to rest. A moment later Runway got a ringer and let out a cheer, "HAHA! I win again Bushwah!"

"Crikey! Now all I'm going to hear all afternoon is you going on about how you beat me!"

"You're just mad that I outplayed you…again!" Runway said laughing.

As they left the horseshoe pit Kit took his chance and trotted over to the pair.

"Excuse me, you're Bushwah and Runway right?" asked Kit.

"That'd be us mate," said the blond dog, "I'm Bushwah Beacon and this here is my sidekick Runway."

"Hiya kid," said Runway.

"So what's your name lad?" asked Bushwah.

Kit looked at Bushwah and realized that, because of his accent, he must be from Downunda. "I'm Kit and I was wondering if I could ask you something."

"What might that be Kit?" asked Bushwah.

"I heard you and Runway are going to be doing something on New Year's Eve and…" Kit paused and lowered his voice, "I was wondering how I can be a part of it."

"Whoa Kid! What are you leading at?" asked Bushwah

"I heard that you guys were planning on going up in some crop dusters and flying straight through the fireworks," said Kit

"Now who's been telling you this? Wait, let me guess…He's skinny, wears a purple vest, and has red hair. Am I close?" teased Bushwah

"Um, maybe," Kit said with a smile.

"That Roy Boy hears everything! No secret is safe from that kid," said Runway, "That boy knows everything before everyone else."

"I don't mean to get him in trouble, but it sounded dangerous so I thought I'd see if I could get aboard with it," said Kit.

"You like danger Kit," Bushwah said with a smile across his face.

"I like excitement."

"Well then lad, if you like the idea of danger then you'll have to convince me and my mate that you could hack a little danger," challenged Bushwah.

Kit smiled a mischievious grin and then recounted his escape from Witherspoon and his and Raging Reggie's run-in with the air pirates. The two air hobos seemed impressed by the boy's exploits.

"I had heard ol Reggie had got hit, but I'm glad that you were able to help him land his plane," said Runway.

"Well matey, you sound like you got a lot of spirit for an ankle biter and if you're half as daring as you sound, then maybe I can see if our pilot friends would be up for having you go along," said Bushwah.

"Gee thanks Bushwah! That'd be awesome!" Kit exclaimed.

The day after he had spoken with Bushwah and Runway, Kit went down to the beach with Sadie and Eddie to idle away the afternoon. The stretch of white beach was largely deserted with the exception of a couple of fisherman sitting on some nearby rocks. Kit and Eddie swam around in the warm tropic water while Sadie lay on a towel that she had borrowed from another kid at the camp. She seemed more interested in doing a crossword puzzle than getting wet.

"Hey Sadie why don't you come on in, the water's nice," said Eddie.

"Yeah Sadie, quit being a bump on a log and come on in," yelled Kit who then dove under the water.

"No thanks boys, you two have at it," answered Sadie.

Kit swam along the sand beneath the waves and marveled at the colorful fish that moved around him. The different species of fish darted out of the way of the cub as he attempted to follow them toward the safety of some nearby rocks. Needing air, he surfaced and saw Eddie leaving the water and heading up to Sadie. Kit kicked his legs and propelled himself closer to shore and then stood in the shallow water and watched the two teens. Eddie had strolled up to Sadie, bent down, then grabbed a handful of sand and tossed it at Sadie.

"EDDIE! What are you doing?" she yelled.

Eddie started laughing and then said through his laughter, "You got some dirt on you, now you gotta come on in the water with us."

"Jerk! You know I can't swim."

"So? I'm here and it's about time you let me teach you how to swim," then he added, "And getting in up to your knees doesn't count as swimming."

"Eddie, stop being such a jerk and let me finish my crossword."

"God Sadie, you're such a stick in the mud sometimes."

"And you're a real pain in the neck sometimes. I swear being with you is like being around a two year old."

By now Kit had gotten out of the water and came to within a few feet of the two teens. He was enjoying the little spat that Sadie and Eddie were having.

"What's the point of coming down to the beach if you're not going to swim Sadie?" asked Eddie in a sarcastic voice.

"Oh geez let me think, maybe people like to lie down and relax," she answered.

Eddie repeated exactly what Sadie said in a mocking voice, then he burst out laughing again.

"You are real immature, you know that Eddie?"

Kit couldn't help but laugh at the exchange going on between his friends, but then he noticed Sadie fixing him with an icy stare.

"What are you laughing at?" she asked with one eyebrow raised.

"You two argue like you're married!" Kit giggled.

"Oh that does it, that does it. Eddie, let's get him!" Sadie sprung to her feet and charged Kit, knocking him down on his back. She straddled Kit and immediately her hands went to his stomach and then the torture began.

"NO, NO STOP IT PLEASE!" Kit laughed as Sadie began tickling him, "NO PLEASE! HAHAHA STOP IT!"

"Oh you're ticklish aren't you?" she said, "Now I found your weakness!"

Kit tried to scoot out from under the girl but was stopped by Eddie who knelt down on Kit's arms and began to tickle his armpits. Kit howled with laughter.

"Oh you think we argue like we're married? You're ticklish like a wittle bitty baby," said Eddie as he proceeded to 'googoo' and 'gaagaa' like a baby.

"PLEASE NO MORE, I TAKE BACK WHAT I SAID!" Kit pleaded laughingly, "OH GOD! I'D RATHER DO ARITHMETIC!"

Laughing along with Kit, the two teens kept up the tickling assault, oblivious to the crowd of air hobos that had gathered to enjoy the beach.

_Christmas 1935-_

Christmas had come and the small community of air hobos had come together to enjoy a Christmas dinner, tropical style. There were locally grown yams mixed with brown sugar, coconuts, fresh rolls that had been purchased from town, bananas and other ripe fruits, shrimp and lobster that had been caught by the hobos, and for the main course: freshly caught swordfish. The smell of the food wafted through the air and filled Kit's nostrils causing his stomach to growl in hunger. Runway and another air hobo, a spider monkey called Twitch, were busy cooking the main dish over an open fire. Julia and Granny were carefully preparing the banana cream and mango pies that would be the desert. A large communal table had been set up and decorations had been strewn up around the camp. Bushwah had even managed to get an actual Christmas tree off of a pilot he had hitched a ride with. The pilot was flying a shipment of the trees from Usland en route to New Fedora and had been nice enough to provide Bushwah with one. The eight-footer stood in the center of the largest building in the encampment. Kit and the other young air hobos had been charged with the task of decorating the tree. Kit, being the youngest in the group, was given the honor of placing a large star decoration on the top of the tree. He was lifted up on Eddie's shoulders and with the entire camp in attendance, he placed the star atop the tree. The air hobos all clapped in joy and proceeded to take their seats at the table. At the head of the long table sat Grammy and Gummer who presided over the festivities. Grammy Gumpshin stood and folded her hands in front of her and lowered her head as she said grace. Everyone at the table clasped their hands and bowed their heads and with eyes shut, listened to Grammy's benediction. She thanked God for the wonderful meal that had been prepared, for the gathering of so many friends, and for the well-being of all air hobos. After she finished and sat down, Gummer began to slice up the main dish and with the help of a small rabbit called Henry Hopper, served the meal.

"HO-HO-HO!" shouted someone from the building's entrance, "Merry Christmas!"

Standing there at the door was a large polar bear named Knute. Knute was dressed in a Santa Claus outfit and over his shoulders he carried a large sack. Standing next to him was an elf, or rather Roy Boy in an elf costume. The two marched into the room much to everyone's enjoyment. Knute had been asked to play the role of Santa due to his large form and ample girth. Roy Boy, being humorous, had volunteered to be the 'elf'. The two dropped off the sack and sat at the table and joined in the feast.

With dinner over, the pair went to the sack and began to pull out gifts for everyone. The air hobos had previously agreed that they would each buy gifts for someone else. Each adult was matched to someone else, without the knowledge of that person, this ensured that everyone would get something. As far as the younger air hobos were concerned, it had been made sure that they would get something from some of the adults as well as one another. Roy Boy the elf handed Santa Knute one gift at a time. He read off the name of the recipient followed by the name of the person who had given the gift.

"Sadie, this gift is from Kit," Santa Knute said as he handed the girl her present. Sadie smiled sweetly at Kit then unwrapped her gift.

"Oh thank you Kit," she said as she pulled out an assortment of crossword puzzle books.

"I thought you'd like that for the next time you go down to the beach," Kit said.

Sadie came over to Kit and gave him a hug. "Thank you Kit," she said then tickled him lightly behind his left ear causing him to giggle.

Eddie was called and received a small pocket knife from Kit, "Thanks Kit!," he said.

After a few more gifts were given Kit heard his name, "To Kit, from Grammy and Gummer," Kit was handed a small rectangular box. He unwrapped the gift and pulled out a new white shirt with a high collar.

"Thanks Grammy! Thanks Gummer!" he said happily.

"Now you got more than just that old blue shirt you always wear. Just make sure to keep it clean!" Grammy said jokingly.

After a few more people were called to get their gifts, Santa Knute called Kit's name again. "To Kit…again," Santa Knute laughed, "From Sadie" Kit was handed a small paper bag. He reached his hand inside and pulled out a red yo-yo. He spun the yo-yo in his hand, examined it, then put the string around his finger and let the yo-yo roll toward the ground and back up into his palm.

"Thanks a lot Sadie!" he said.

"Thought you might like that," she said, "It goes away and comes back to you, just like air hobos go somewhere and then come back."

He thought about what she said and it all made sense. Air hobos went far and wide, but generally ended up back with people they knew.

"Hey Kit, the yo-yo is from both of us," interjected Eddie.

Sadie socked the lion on the arm and said, "I figured you'd say something like that you cheapskate."

Eddie smiled sheepishly and said, "Who me?"

"Thanks you guys!" Kit said then surprised the two teens by giving them a hug. The two were momentarily surprised by the hug but then wrapped their arms around the cub.

That evening Kit noticed Sadie walking alone in the direction of the beach. He followed her and saw her sit down on the sand. She stared out toward the horizon and sighed deeply. Sensing something was bothering her, Kit walked over to his friend and sat down next to her.

"Hey Sadie, what are you doing out here all by yourself?" he asked.

"Um nothing. Just getting some fresh air is all," she replied.

There was something in her voice that caught Kit's attention. There was a hint of melancholy in her words.

"You OK?" he asked.

Sadie stiffened a bit then sagged her shoulders and looked Kit in the eyes. "This is my third Christmas since I left my family."

"Oh, well I'm sure there alright."

"Sometimes I think I should give all of this up and go back."

"I bet you miss them."

"Yeah, but if I go back then I don't think I'll be an air hobo anymore."

"I don't think a person can be an air hobo forever Sadie."

"I think you're right Kit, but anyway, enough of dwelling on that for now."

Kit felt a little uncomfortable as if he were intruding on Sadie's private life, "I can go if you want me to."

She smiled warmly at him and said, "Keep me company Master Criminal."

He laughed and said, "Not a problem, say where'd you get that necklace?" he said pointing to the seashell necklace around her neck.

"Oh that, um well, Eddie gave it to me"

"Eddie?"

"Well actually he made it. He said he got all of the shells from different beaches we went to," she paused and then added, "Which means that he'd been working on it for a while."

Kit then realized what was going on between the two teens. It all made sense now: they traveled together, playfully argued, they were closer to each other than with any of the others, even their reaction to Kit's comment on arguing like married people. They cared about one another.

"He's your boyfriend?" Kit asked cautiously.

"NO! Well, maybe, uh I don't know," she said, "He's really sweet and we've known each other a while now, but he's, I don't know, he can be immature and even annoying sometimes. Sometimes he acts like a little kid."

"So you're not dating?"

"No, well he hasn't officially asked me out or anything. He just came up to me a little while ago and asked me to come outside. Said he had something for me and made me close my eyes and keep them closed until he said to open them. Then I felt him put the necklace on me and then he said to open my eyes and there he was with this goofy smile on his face. He said he made it for me and that he likes me a lot. It was so awkward, but it was so cute at the same time. He really is cute sometimes."

Kit listened to her description of the events and then asked, "So what happened next?"

"He kissed me on the cheek."

Kit whistled then said, "And then?"

"I told him I like him a lot too, but that I was real surprised by the gift and what he said and that I needed time to think. I don't think he liked that cause he looked kind of bummed then he just said 'OK' and went back inside. I hope I didn't hurt his feelings."

"I'm sure you didn't"

"It's just that I am thinking about giving up on the air hobo business and going back to my family, but Eddie wants to keep living this type of life so now I'm torn between what to do; go back to my family and leave Eddie feeling rejected or I stay an air hobo and be with Eddie and put off my family again. What do you think kiddo?"

"Me?"

"Yeah you, what's your take on this?"

He thought about her question for a moment and then said, "I think that you should see if Eddie would give up being an air hobo. If he really does care about you then I think he'd give up the lifestyle and go home with you. Or he might care about you enough and understand why you want to go back to your family and let you go."

She thought about his response, then smiled and said, "You didn't really answer my question."

"I know, I can't answer your question, you have to."

Sadie put her arm around Kit's shoulders, pulled him into a tight hug and said, "For a kid you can sure sound grown up sometimes," she gave him a squeeze and then a quick tickle on his stomach which caused them both to laugh, "Come on, let's go back to camp and see what everyone is doing."

"Hey Kit, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Kit turned his head and saw Eddie standing in the shadows. Kit and Sadie had returned to the camp and Sadie had gone back inside the building while he had gone to take the trash to the camp's burn pit. "Sure Eddie, but why are you standing in the dark?"

"Did Sadie tell you anything about," Eddie paused then continued, "About anything personal?"

Kit knew what Eddie was getting at but was worried that if he told Eddie what Sadie had talked to him about that she may get mad at him. He thought about it for a moment then answered, "Maybe you should ask her and not me."

"I saw you two down by the beach."

"You watched us Eddie?"

"Look Kit, I'm not going to beat around the bush ok? I know she told you about what went on between me and her tonight and I just want to know," the young lion took a gulp and looked down at his feet, "I just want to know if she's OK, you know? If she, uh I don't know, feels sad or mad or anything. I'm worried about her and all."

Kit stared at the teenager and noticed how worried he was. The normally carefree and cocky teen was now looking like a worried little schoolboy. _He must really care about her, _Kit thought. "She'll be OK Eddie, you know how she is, she's tough."

Eddie smiled and gave a small laugh and said, "That she is."

"Maybe you should go and talk to her and then you two can clear this up."

"I don't know about doing that tonight cause I think I put her on the spot. I know she mentioned going back home for good, but she knows I love this air hobo stuff and I don't want to force her to choose between her family and running around with me, but I like this girl a lot Kit. She's something special and I honestly never felt this way about a girl before," Eddie stopped for a moment then quickly added, Don't go tellin' anyone I said that OK? It'd make me look like a wimp in front of the guys."

"Don't worry Eddie I won't say anything like that."

"You know Kit, you're an alright kid. One of these days though, you'll end up in the same spot I'm in and you'll get to deal with girl problems," Eddie said grinning, "But I think you got a few years to go until then."

Kit laughed then said, "I got enough problems to deal with now without girls."

"I think I'll give her a day to think about it all and then I'll go and talk to her," Eddie said as he headed back inside.

Kit watched as the lion walked off and thought to himself, _So that's what a person who's in love looks like._

_New Year's Eve 1935-_

Kit sat at an old desk in the corner of the Quonset hut with his airfoil in front of him. The device was nearing completion, but it should have been finished sooner. Kit lamented this fact as he had slacked off on the project since he had arrived at the camp. As a matter of fact, it seemed like his drive to complete the airfoil had waned since his run in with Doug, Doyle, and Jeff. He noticed that he had become more and more grounded since he had met up with the air hobos. He still went on flights in and out of Marshall' Island, but everything had become routine for him. Maybe he was getting too content with living at the camp. Perhaps he should leave the island and head to a different scene. He knew he was among people who were like him, yet he couldn't shake the fact that there was an undefinable _something _that separated him from the rest. Even Sadie seemed somewhat different compared to him. "Leave it to me to feel like an outsider around people who made me part of their group," he said quietly. He focused back on the airfoil and continued to tinker with it. He was satisfied that within a week he would be ready to test it out.

"Hey boyo! You still up for tonight? Or are you gonna play it safe and watch from the ground?"

"Bushwah! Did you get a pilot to go along with your plan?"

"Bloody right I did! Why else would I ask if you were still up for it?" said Bushwah.

"Great! I'm up for it," beamed Kit.

"Good. Now all I got is one old crop duster with his biplane so it's going to be me, Runway, and you."

"Four people in a biplane, how's that going to work?" asked Kit.

"Oh you'll see!" said Bushwah with a mischievous wink.

Kit stared at the old Soapwith Snipe biplane and its cap and white scarf wearing fox pilot with skepticism. He, Bushwah, and Runway had arrived at the airfield a few minutes earlier and the two veteran air hobos had gone looking for their crop duster pilot. Kit noticed that the airplane looked as if it had seen better days: the paint was faded, it looked dusty, and to top it off its pilot seemed a bit eccentric to say the least.

"Hey Kit, this is our pilot for this evening," said Bushwah as he nodded in the direction of the fox.

"Good afternoon gentlemen and lad," the fox said in an Anglian accent as he took a sip of tea from a cup that he held. The fox sported a monocle in his left eye which gave him a cockeyed appearance. He held his head slightly upward in a snobbish manner and had a wooden swagger stick in his right hand.

"Hey Neville, introduce yourself to Kit," Runway said to the fox.

The fox looked down at Kit and said with a noble sounding voice, "I am Neville Arthur Wellington Foxworth The Fourth, former Major in the Anglian Royal Air Force, Ace of the Battle of Lurraine and Recipient of the Victorious Cross," and with a flourish he extended his hand to Kit.

Kit shook Foxworth's hand then replied, "I'm Kit, former resident of the Freeport Home for Children, veteran of schoolyard battles, and recipient of many scrapes and bruises."

"By Jove gentlemen, I do believe that you have a very cultured and experienced individual in your midst," said Foxworth with a wink.

The two air hobos laughed at the remark and a wide grin spread across Kit's face.

"Very well gentlemen, let us prepare for tonight's mission," the fox said as he began to pace around in a circle. "We will be going in alone on a reconnaissance mission. Headquarters has charged us with gathering Intel on the enemy's forces in the Lurraine area of operations. There is a strong possibility that the enemy is massing troops at several points along the trench system, forces that may be used in an offensive on our salient outside of the city of Lurraine. As we will be flying at night, we will have the advantage of darkness as cover," Kit stared in amazement as the fox appeared to be totally serious about flying an actual combat mission instead of just a New Year's Eve stunt. _Was this guy serious? _Kit thought. "Now, we have been told to expect that the enemy will send up interceptors if they hear our engines and also we may receive heavy fire from the ground. I expect each of you to maintain your composure, pursue the objectives of our mission, and to defeat any aircraft that is sent against us. Remember gentlemen, we are the best of His Majesty's Royal Air Force and I in turn expect nothing but the best from you." With that the fox concluded his monologue, and snapped to attention. Bushwah and Runway went to attention and gave an Anglian military open-palm salute to the fox. Foxworth focused on Kit and gave him a slight nod and the cub immediately raised his right hand in salute. Foxworth gave a quick salute, lowered his hand and said, "Gentlemen, be ready to fly at 2330 hours."

"What was all that about," asked Kit.

"Well Kit," said Bushwah, "Ol' Foxworth was discharged after the Great War and didn't know what to do with himself. All he knew was flying so he moved out this way and started his own crop dusting business. Seems he missed the excitement of combat and does his best to recreate it. He's a little out there at times, but he's an excellent pilot, plus anything that is even remotely exciting to him will get his attention."

"Yeah Kit, as soon as he heard about our idea he offered his services," added Runway.

"He seems a little odd," Kit said a little hesitantly.

"Odd? Ol' Foxworth is bloody certifiable, but he's a daredevil at heart which makes him perfect for this," Bushwah said with a smile.

The rickety Soapwith fighter barreled down the runway and ascended into the dark sky. The little fighter had only one seat in which sat Foxworth and Kit. Kit was pressed snug against the back of the airplane's seat and the fox's back. Foxworth had seated himself on the edge of his seat in order for the cub to fit in behind him. As the plane lifted from the ground, Kit looked left and right to the plane's lower wings and saw Runway and Bushwah. The two air hobos were laying atop the wing and held there by rope that had secured them to the wing. Both yelled in glee as the wind buffeted their faces. Kit felt the cool air hit his face and he too whooped with glee. Foxworth looked over his shoulder and shouted over the wind to Kit, "Keep a sharp look at the ground boy! Watch for any activity down there. It'll be dark but with the moon out you should be able to pick out any large concentration of men." Kit brought his hand up in a salute to acknowledge the fox and then looked down on the ground. The Soapwith Snipe flew over the island at an altitude of 600 feet and from this vantage he could make out the lights of Downtown Marshall's Island ahead. Out on the bay, a fleet of ships had gathered with their crews and passenger out on their decks to enjoy the show. A couple of large barges were in the center of the bay and from these ships would come the fireworks. Foxworth glanced at his wristwatch and yelled out the time; "2355!" Kit looked over to Bushwah and Runway and repeated the time to the pair who gave a thumbs up response.

At the same time that Kit was relaying the time, the fireworks crew on the barges were awaiting the signal to fire from their foreman. The old foreman looked at his wristwatch and saw that it was 27 seconds from midnight. As the seconds ticked down he raised his hand which prompted the crew to ready for the firing. Out on the shore and all across the island, people began the countdown to 1936, "TEN, NINE, EIGHT, SEVEN, SIX, FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" And at exactly midnight(or 2355 by Foxworth's slow watch) the fireworks went off and the skies above Marshall's Island lit up.

"WHOA! I thought you said we had five minutes Kit!" Bushwah screamed in mock terror.

"Kit shouted back to the two air hobos saying that he thought that Foxworth's watch was slow. It was. As a habit from his days in the Royal Air Force, Foxworth had kept his watch five minutes behind the actual time in order to ensure that he would always be on time. At this exact moment the plane was roughly over the center of the bay as the first volley of star clusters and Roman candles lifted off from the barge. The fireworks climbed into the sky and exploded with violent, colorful fury all around the fighter. Foxworth banked his fighter to the left as executed evasive maneuvers.

"We've been spotted lads! The bloody Huns have got us in their sights!" cried the fox as he turned his plane sharply to the right. "I'm going to go in low and strafe them, hold on!" Foxworth plunged the aircraft into a steep dive toward the barges as he fired his imaginary machine gun.

With the fireworks shooting off into the night sky, none of the crew noticed the plane approaching them until it was practically over their heads. It came in at less than 50 feet from the surface of the water at a speed of 115 mph. Its passing startled the crew and several dove for cover. Miraculously, the plane had managed to avoid being hit by the launching fireworks. "What in God's name was that?" screamed the bewildered foreman.

"CRIKEY! FOXWORTH! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US KILLED?" shouted Bushwah as the plane pulled up from and away from the barges.

All around the plane the fireworks blasted, showering the sky in vibrant colors of green, blue, red, white, and gold. Smoke from the blasts filled Kit's nose, and the noise muffled his hearing, but even this was not enough to squelch his excitement. The fighter barrel-rolled and swooped down at steep angles and weaved in out of the path of the rocketing fireworks. Kit closed his eyes and remembered watching _Wings of Glory _back in Freeport. He had fantasized about being in the middle of that great air battle and instantly he knew that this was exactly what Foxworth must be imagining. As this thought went through his mind, Foxworth took the plane up into the air at a steep angle. The little fighter pushed its way up past 3,000 feet before Foxworth brought it upside down in a loop and took the plane into a rapid descent. Kit felt butterflies beginning to swarm in his stomach and looked over at Bushwah and Runway. The two air hobos were screaming at the tops of their lungs and enjoying every second of it. Kit threw his arms up in the air and shouted at the top of his lungs, "WAHOOOOOOO!" None of the three could see the look on Foxworth's face. The normally calm and steady fox now had a look of pure malice on his face. He squinted his eyes and had a sneer of malicious intent on his face as he continued to blast away at his imaginary foes. For the moment Foxworth wasn't in Marshall's Island on New Year's Eve 1935. Rather he was over the Western Front on March 29th 1917 and he was fighting for his life in the Battle of Lurraine. This was the battle in which the wounded Foxworth and his badly damaged and outnumbered plane single handily shot down 10 enemy fighters. The brave fox had later been awarded the Anglian Kingdom's highest award for his actions against the Reichlanders.

The furious barrage of the fireworks continued unabated for 15 minutes while the people of Marshall's Island cheered on. By now they had all noticed the little biplane dodging the exploding shells. "Is he crazy?" asked one large hippo who pointed out the spectacle to her goose husband.

"Who does he think he is?" shouted the mayor as he demanded an explanation for the daredevil pilot's actions.

"Mommy! Look up there!" a small girl hyena said as she pointed up into the sky.

"That is probably the craziest bunch of people I've ever seen!" exclaimed an excited Ralph as he watched the small plane through his binoculars. He saw the two guys strapped to the wings but didn't notice the small brown bear cub seated behind the pilot.

"Boys, that is one type of pilot that I wouldn't want to get on the bad side of," said Vinny to his goons as they watched the spectacle from the balcony of the Buccaneer Club, "That has got to be that crazy fox character."

"Grammy! Gummer! See them? Those yahoos are actually doing it!" shouted Roy Boy to the air hobo patriarchs. Grammy Gumpshin and Gummer looked up to where the ginger-haired teenager pointed and caught sight of the biplane and smiled in amusement.

"Look Eddie! There they go," Sadie said as she pointed out Kit, Bushwah, and Runway on their fox pilot's plane, "Kit must be having a blast."

"Well he's not the only one, Happy New Year Sadie," Eddie said, then he took the girl in his arms, looked

her in the eyes, and kissed her on the lips.


	7. Cloudkicker

"_It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves-in finding themselves"-Andre Gide_

_January 1936-_

In the aftermath of the fireflight stunt, Foxworth received a visit from the Marshall's Island police and was promptly fined $100 for 'willfully endangering the public'. The pilot had scoffed at the accusation and had allowed himself to be taken to the local jail. Two hours later he was released into the custody of a wealthy sugar baron who needed the pilot to dust his fields. The wealthy elephant didn't need his fields dusted for another week, but it helped that he owned the island's country club of which the mayor was a member. Foxworth collected his things from his jailers, bid them farewell, and drove off with his wealthy employer in an expensive Roars Royce. Two days after the incident, Bushwah and Runway had again skipped town along with Julia and Henry Hopper for parts unknown. Kit on the other hand stayed behind to complete his project.

The young cub pressed the button of his airfoil and instantly the device expanded into its crescent shape. Kit closed the airfoil back into its compact shape then he sprung it back into the crescent. He did this several times until he was certain that it would open up smoothly every time. Next he grabbed a can of liquid spray called Tufflon. He had acquired it on a flight to Jackomanka aboard a plane that belonged to the Miniversal Corporation. According to paperwork that he had found while rummaging through a box, the Tufflon was designed to be sprayed onto metal surfaces in order to provide additional protection against dents, nicks, and scratches. Now, the cub liberally applied a thick coating to the airfoil. After it had dried in the sun, he again sprayed another coat onto the device. Once it had dried he slammed the airfoil into the concrete floor of the Quonset hut. He picked it up and noted that there were no scratches or dents in the foil. Satisfied that it wouldn't break as easily as Jeff had broken the previous airfoil, he decided that now was the time to test his creation.

A crowd of air hobos had gathered around the Quonset hut and watched what the cub was doing. He stood atop of the building on its flat center and looked out across the area in front of the structure. He turned and walked toward the middle of the roof, turned, and sprinted toward the edge with his open airfoil in hand. The crowd watched as the brown cub leaped from the roof and onto the back of his crescent-shaped craft. Kit steadied himself on his airfoil and leaned back on it which caused the airfoil's front end to rise and thus slow his descent. Kit sailed down at an angle that took him 50 feet from the front of the building. His first impression was that operating the device was easy. Unfortunately for him, landing was another matter. As the airfoil made contact with the ground, Kit lost his balance, pitched forward, and face planted into the grass. He went into a roll on the grass and tumbled to a stop with his face to the sky. The air hobos ran to the downed cub and were greeted by his panting laughter. "THAT WAS AWESOME!" he exclaimed.

"You're nuts kid! You could've gotten killed!" shouted a short beagle named Tucker.

"Are you alright?" asked a young puma named Mae.

Kit sat up, shook his head, and asked, "How did I look?"

"Like a young fool bent on killin' himself," answered Gummer, "You kids are too reckless."

"Shush Gummer," said Grammy, "I distinctly remember a strapping young bear that had to pick a fight with every Tom, Dick, and Harry that even looked in my direction, so don't you go on about acting recklessly."

"Aw that was different. That was to protect your honor," retorted Gummer.

"Well aren't you just my knight in shining armor. Kit, are you alright? You're bleeding," said Grammy with much concern.

Kit touched his stinging chin and felt blood. He looked down at himself and saw that he had small amounts of blood on his knees and his left elbow. Other than that, he felt fine. "I'm OK Grammy, it's just a flesh wound!" he answered in a cheery voice.

"That's the second time I've seen you jump off of a building Master Criminal," said Sadie as she and Tucker helped Kit to his feet.

"It might not be the last Sadie, I still have to perfect this," Kit replied with a wink.

Over the next week and a half Kit continued with the testing of the airfoil. He received more bumps and bruises and had the wind knocked out of him more than once. He graduated from sailing down from the roof to riding into the air while holding onto a rope attached to Ralph's pickup truck. The old goat was more than happy to assist his little rescuer and had sped down the road with Kit being towed behind him. Kit was able to develop more control over the device and soon was able to stand on the airfoil with one leg while the other was seated into a loop in the rope. Each time he tested the airfoil out he was one step closer to reaching out and touching the clouds.

"I've got to get into the air," said Kit as he lay on the sand and stared up into the bright blue sky.

"So why don't you just hop a flight somewhere?" asked Roy Boy who was busy playing around with a crab in a nearby tide pool.

"I'm not planning on leaving but I need to find someone who'd be willing to let me hang out the back of their plane."

"What, no luck finding anyone who'd let you do it?" asked Roy Boy.

"Nope, I asked a couple of pilots and they looked at me like I was crazy and if I hop a ride with them and then decide to do it, well that would just give them an excuse to never let me fly with them again," said Kit.

"Have you thought about falling?" Roy Boy asked.

"From the back of the plane?" said Kit.

"Yeah. You know you might not be able to get out of that one if that happens," Roy Boy said as he made a grab for the little crab. He pulled back in alarm as the small crustacean snapped at his fingers. He looked around and hoped that Kit hadn't noticed.

Kit thought about it for a moment: it was a real possibility that he could end up as splatter on the ground somewhere or as shark food in the ocean. Despite the possibilities he had made up his mind to seek out the one pilot who was crazy enough to let someone hang off the end of his plane.

Kit entered the darkly lit _Mad Jack's Tavern _and looked around for Foxworth. The tavern was named after Captain John "Mad Jack" Marshall, the infamous 18th Century pirate who had set up his pirate hideout on the island which came to bear his name. The establishment was currently filled with dozens of fisherman, pilots, sailors, and dockworkers who were all busy partaking of the various ales and liquors that were on hand. On one wall was a portrait of old Mad Jack himself. In the picture, the black mustached otter stood defiantly in the rain alongside the wheel of his ship with a pistol in one hand and a bottle of rum in the other. Mad Jack's reign of piracy on the high seas lasted 10 years before the Anglian Royal Navy had sent him to the bottom in a clash just south of the island. The pirate was determined to never be taken alive and had rammed his crippled ship the _Lorelei _right into an Anglian vessel which in turn sank taking most of its crew with it. With his own ship sinking, he fired his pistol into the Anglian flag that fluttered from the sinking navy ship and reportedly said, "I go happily to the sea in defiance of thee! Mark my words men, I shall sail the sea again!" Ever since, it was said that on moonlit nights the _Lorelei _and her captain could be seen stalking the waters off of Marshall's Island. Kit smiled at the picture of the pirate and said out loud the old pirate ditty, "Yo-ho yo-ho a pirate's life for me."

Kit continued to gaze around the tavern in search of Foxworth. There were two large rhinoceroses battling in out in an arm wrestling match, a quartet of baboons throwing darts, and a couple of donkeys shooting pool. One donkey, wearing a yellow hat, sat on a chair with a mug of beer in one hand and a cigar in the other. His tall, skinny, red-haired companion was busy making trick shots and smoking away at his stogie. Kit went up to the pair and asked if they had seen Foxworth.

"Excuse me, but have you seen a fox with an Anglian accent and an eyeglass around here?" asked Kit.

The donkey in the chair answered, "No I haven't seen him…HICCUP! Hey Lampy HICCUP! have you seen Foxworth around?"

"Who's askin' Pinoke?" replied Lampy who was busy eyeing up his next shot.

"This little cub is looking for him," Pinoke looked at Kit and then said to him, "This isn't the kind of place a kid should be in, HICCUP! Listen to your conscience and be a good boy otherwise you'll…HICCUP! End up like me and Lampy."

"And how is that?" asked Kit.

"Spending all of our wages on beer and cigars when we could be doing something with our lives," replied the intoxicated donkey.

"AWWW Pinoke, stop it with the drunken morality speech OK? How do you expect this kid to be a real boy? Take it from me kiddo, what a person does with his money is his own business. Don't let anyone tell you what you can and can't do with your life. Besides, my friend can barely handle his beer so don't pay any attention to him," said Lampy who then sank yet another shot.

Just then someone tapped Kit's shoulder. Startled, he turned around and saw that Foxworth had tapped him with his swagger stick. The fox peered down and said, "I heard someone was looking for me, although I expected it would be someone from our dear mayor come to chastise me once again for New Year's Eve."

"How'd you get out of that one?" Kit inquired.

"My young friend, lets just say that I know people," the fox said with a wink, "Now, have these two young men been trying to sucker you into playing pool for money?" Foxworth said while gesturing at Pinoke and Lampy.

"Naw Foxworth, I gotta finish schooling Pinoke here before I can hustle anyone else," answered Lampy.

Kit looked over to Pinoke and saw that he had laid his head on a table and passed out, "I don't think you have to worry about beating him," he said.

The red haired donkey looked at his passed out friend and let out a hee-haw of laughter and then finished knocking the remaining balls into the pockets.

"Come now lad, let us talk about why you want to see me," said Foxworth who led Kit out to a patio table.

Once Kit had explained his idea to Foxworth, he sat back and watched as the fox silently thought the idea over. Finally the pilot said, "I understand that you want to test out this device of yours, but I cannot fathom _why _you actually would want to do this."

"Because I want to be somebody and no one else has done this before. I want to go up into the sky. I want to fly someday and this will be one step closer to me actually flying," answered Kit _Besides, I owe it to my parents to do this_.

"You really want to be a pilot?"

"Yes. I think about flying every day Foxworth."

"Then it's a shame that you can't legally fly until you're 16, and this hanging out the back of an aircraft is dangerous and more than likely illegal."

Kit started to look downcast and began to think who else would allow him to test out his airfoil. Foxworth, thinking that Kit had misunderstood him said, "Airman Kit, report to the airfield at 0500 tomorrow morning with your gear."

Kit sat straight up, smiled , and saluted the veteran pilot, "Yes sir!" then he was off.

_January 7__th__ 1936-_

Today was a day that would always be remembered by Kit: it was the first day he flew with his airfoil. Kit had arrived at the airfield with his airfoil and a 40 foot section of rope with a metal bar tied into the end. He wore his well-worn gray pants and the white t-shirt he had received from Grammy and Gummer. Despite the early hour, the young cub was wide awake with excitement. Keeping in military fashion, Foxworth was five minutes early.

"Good morning Major Foxworth!" a saluting Kit said cheerily.

"I see someone has remembered to address me by my proper rank," said the fox, who was beginning his morning with a cup of tea. Foxworth returned Kit's salute.

After Foxworth had finished his tea, he and Kit prepared the airplane for the morning's crop dusting run. Foxworth explained to Kit that the first priority was dusting the sugarcane fields that belonged the wealthy elephant that had gotten Foxworth out of jail. Once the fields were dusted, the pilot would allow Kit to give his airfoil a try. Now with the engine running and the wheels blocks removed by a ground crewman ostrich, the Soapwith Snipe began its move down the runway. The little plane sped down the pavement and climbed into the sky in the direction of rising sun.

Foxworth reverted to his old Great War self and pretended to strafe imaginary enemy soldiers as he sprayed the fields. Kit on the other hand thought about the parents he never knew. He knew that Kieran and Katie McCloud had been working on the airfoil before their deaths and had to the best of his knowledge never built a prototype. Now he was getting ready to test out their vision. He realized that his feelings were mixed over his parents. In the orphanage he had often wondered about who and where his parents were. With the knowledge that they had passed away, Kit realized that he couldn't really miss people he never knew. He felt guilty for this line of thought, but he had learned to make his way with little help from anyone. Still there were times when he longed to have had a chance to have known his parents. Had they lived, his entire life would be different. He would probably in school and living in a house instead of being an air hobo. Nevertheless, here he was getting ready to put his parent's invention to use. He knew deep down inside that they would want him to take this important step. He was going to become the world's first air boarder for his parents and for himself.

Kit shimmied down the tail of the Snipe with his airfoil in his shirt and the tow line in hand. Foxworth had the plane flying at 85 mph at an altitude of 300 feet. Even though Kit was just moments from using the airfoil he was nervous. As he got to the end of the tail section, he took a deep breath and said, "No guts, no glory." The he rolled off the tail. The feeling of weightlessness was at first disorientating, but the cub brushed it off and pulled out his airfoil. He pressed the button and the foil sprung into its wedge shape. Kit fitted his feet onto it and leaned back on the tow rope. The wind buffeted him and caused him to flail about in the air as he fought for control of the airfoil.

Ahead in his seat, Foxworth glanced over his shoulder and saw the boy fighting to maintain control of his newfangled invention, "God help me if that lad falls, I'll never hear the end of it from the mayor."

Kit continued to struggle with the airfoil as he swayed from side to side behind the plane. He hadn't anticipated the force of the wind in relation to his small body and he had begun to seriously rethink his predicament. Finally Kit managed to steady himself by leaning back on the airfoil like he had when he was being towed behind Ralph's pickup. _Now this is more like it!_ He thought as he now had gained control over the device.

Foxworth had continued to look behind him to ensure that the cub was still there. He was surprised to see the lad holding steady on his airfoil and waving to him. Kit now pointed up into the sky to let the pilot know to take him higher. The fox shook his head and then took the plane higher into the sky.

It was now 6:30 in the morning and Grammy, Gummer, and several others in the camp were up and about. They heard the sound of an approaching airplane and looked up into the sky. An amazing sight greeted them: a small plane with a young bear cub sailing on the thin air above them. They watched as the plane banked left and the cub waved down to the crowd below.

"Oh my goodness! That's Kit!" Grammy exclaimed.

"That kid is going to get himself hurt!" said Gummer who then smiled in wonder at the daring young boy.

"He's actually gone and done it," said Sadie as she rushed out of the building and saw the sight in the air.

"Way to go Kit!" Eddie yelled as he pumped his fist into the sky.

The pilot took the plane higher into the sky and entered the clouds. Kit wasn't quite prepared for the rapid ascent into the air and was surprised to find himself entering some low hanging clouds. A cool misting of suspended water molecules glided across him in defiance of the warm tropical weather. Here in the clouds it was cooler and coupled with the windchill from the plane's movement he found himself getting a chill. Where others may have been chilled to the bone from being _inside _a cloud, Kit was exhilarated. Never in his short life had he felt anything like this. It was like a dream come true. Here he was, a 10 year old cub soaring on the silver-tinged clouds. It was like something out of a fantasy story. Kit yelled out in joy as he danced across the heavens with a smile on his youthful face. He knew in his heart that his parents were there with him now in the clouds. He could feel their presence as they watched their son skip along the clouds. Kit knew that his parents would always live on in his heart, but he decided that the knowledge of his parents and the origin of the airfoil would remain a secret locked away inside him. He felt that it was his way of keeping their spirit alive. He felt that he couldn't share his past with anyone yet. Not Sadie or Eddie, or even Grammy and Gummer. Someday maybe, he would share his past with someone special, but for the time being he would live with this on his own. For now Kit lived his dream as he soared the sky.

A triumphant Kit entered the air hobo camp with a smile on his face and his airfoil tucked under his arm. A crowd of air hobos ran out to greet the cub and big Knute the polar bear hoisted the cub onto his shoulders. Everyone was asking him questions and cheering him on.

"WOW! That was amazing Kit!"

"I've never seen anything like it before!"

"You got some guts kiddo!"

"Were you scared?"

"What was it like up there?"

Kit smiled and blushed as he was inundated with praise. Knute lifted him off of his shoulders and placed him on the ground. Sadie ran up to him and put her arms on his shoulders and said, "You could've been killed! Are you nuts?" Then she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight, "I'm so happy for you Kit!"

Kit blushed again and said, "You worried about me?"

"Of course, that's what friends do," she said.

"Child, you threw us for a loop but it was amazing to see you do that," said Grammy, "It looked like you were kicking the clouds."

"Yeah you whipper-snapper," said Gummer, "You were like a regular little cloudkicker up there."

"Say, that has a nice ring to it Gummer," commented Grammy.

Kit thought about it, _Cloudkicker, Kit McCloud. Maybe there's a connection, like it was meant to be or something. Kit McCloud-kicker. Kit Cloudkicker. I like that sound of that._

As if she could read his mind Sadie said, "Well it looks like I'll have to call you Cloudkicker instead of Master Criminal from now on."

Kit thought about it again, _they can call me Cloudkicker, but I'll always remember that I was Kit McCloud first and they don't need to know that about me. They don't need to know my past, that's mine. I can be whoever I want to be to them. _Satisfied with this thought Kit said, "It was great up there, but it was cold too. I need to get me something warm to wear when I go up next time."

Hearing this Roy Boy Rudder said, "I'll be right back!" then he sprinted away. He soon returned with a small, faded green sweater that had a patch on the right elbow. "Here, put this on. I outgrew it but it should fit you just fine."

Kit took the green sweater and pulled it on over his white, high-collared shirt. The sweater was a little large for him but he knew he'd grow into it. "Thanks a lot Roy Boy," he said. A little while later Kit passed by a window on one of the site's smaller buildings and took a look at his reflection. There he was; a young brown bear cub in a faded green sweater complete with a light yellow patch, his white shirt collar visible and his airfoil in hand. He folded his arms across his chest with the airfoil in hand and with a serious expression on his face he looked at his image in the glass. _Kit Cloudkicker _he thought, _Yeah…_

_February 1936-_

"Hey there, need someone to help you with your cargo Albert?"

Albert spun around and saw a young brown bear cub in a green sweater that was leaning up against the side of a post and playing with a red yo-yo.

"Kit? Is that you?"

"Sure is Albert."

Albert stared in amazement at the little cub who wasn't as little as he was months ago when he last saw him. Sure the boy looked thinner, but from the way he carried himself he seemed more grown up.

"How have you been Kit? It's great to see you after all this time!" Albert said and immediately shook Kit's hand.

"It's been something Albert," answered Kit.

"Well, seeing as yer offerin' to help with the cargo then maybe you'd like to fly to Cucamonga with me?" asked Albert.

"Sure thing Albert, say do you want to see something neat?" asked Kit with a sly grin.

The twin-engine SP-19 Cormorant sped across the sky at 3,500 feet and a speed of 125 mph. Albert opened the cargo door and couldn't believe that he had let Kit talk him into letting him hang from the back of his plane. The cub had excitedly told him about his invention and how he had been using it recently in order to 'cloudsurf' as he called it. Albert was feeling a little nervous at the prospect of a 10 year old skiing behind his plane, but he finally relented and let the cub tie his tow rope into the inside of the plane. Albert looked behind him and over the boxes of canned goods and saw the cub jump backwards from the cargo ramp and into the sky. "That kid is crazy!" he said.

As Kit jumped into the air he deployed his airfoil, took a stance on the device, and let himself be pulled behind the speeding plane. The wind whipped through his fur and he shouted in enjoyment as the adrenalin coursed through his veins.

The four engine TransOcean airliner was currently flying at an altitude of 3,500 feet which was well below the plane's maximum altitude. This was due to a safety precaution against flying through the storm clouds that were above the plane. There were 38 passengers and a 4 person crew aboard the plane which had lifted off from Freeport en route to Cape Suzette. The plane was scheduled to make two short stops and wouldn't land in Cape Suzette until early evening.

On board the airliner Julius F. Witherspoon was busy reading the financial section of the _Freeport Press _when the stewardess came up to him.

"Would you care for a something to drink sir? Perhaps a cocktail?" the ferret stewardess asked.

"No thank you miss, I'm fine," he replied as he went back to his paper. Suddenly movement in the corner of his right eye caught his attention. He glanced to his right and saw a twin-engine plane flying with a bear cub being towed behind on a rope. The cub was holding onto the tow rope with one hand and waving at the airliner with the other. He went back to reading his paper and then the realization of what he had just seen hit him, "No, it couldn't be." He looked back out the window and all he saw was empty air. He knew he had seen a plane towing a bear cub, but that was ridiculous! He looked around and raised his hand and said, "Uh stewardess? On second thought I think I'll have that drink!"

_March 1936-_

_"_Hey Cloudkicker, I got something to tell you," Sadie said as sat down next to him on the beach.

"What's on your mind?" Kit asked her.

"Remember on Christmas when I told you about going back to my family?"

"Yeah," he answered then said, "You're going back?"

"I think its time for me to go home," she said.

Kit was dumbstruck. He knew that Sadie had mentioned that she was thinking of going home, but he hadn't actually thought she would go. Sadie saw the look of surprise on the cub's face and socked him lightly on the shoulder.

"Don't get all sad on me Cloudkicker," it's definitely not your style.

"Well when are you going?"

"In a week, Eddie is going with me."

"Eddie? You actually got him to go home with you?"

"Yeah. He said he hasn't been home in a while so we both decided that we'd head back to Usland together and see where it goes. I think he's beginning to realize that the air hobo life isn't permanent."

Kit thought about what he had been told. The two teenagers had become quite close in the past few months and it made sense that they'd want to stay together. He was just surprised to see that the two of them were going to be leaving the air hobo life behind…as well as leaving him behind.

"That's great Sadie I'm glad that you got Eddie to go with you. I couldn't imagine him without you. I'm going to be leaving too," he said.

"You are? Where too?"

"I don't know yet. I've been in Marshall's Island too long and I think it's time that I got out and went somewhere else."

"Kit, are you upset about Eddie and I leaving?" Sadie asked quietly.

"No!" he answered, although he immediately regretted his tone. "I mean, I'm gonna miss you guys, but I know that you've wanted to go back to your family. I just think that maybe I'll give the air hobo life some more time you know? I think being on my own can be good for me," he said.

Sadie took a deep breath, looked Kit in the eye, and said, "Don't spend all your time being an air hobo and none of your time being a kid."

A week later Kit stood on the tarmac of the airfield with Sadie and Eddie as they got ready to leave the island. The night before, Grammy and Gummer had presided over a dinner in honor of the two teens. Bushwah, Runway, and Julia had returned two days earlier and had joined the group in seeing the teens off. Word was going around the camp that a federal official named Witherspoon was planning on flying out to Marshall's Island soon to flush out all of the air hobos. It had been decided that everyone would leave the camp in the next few days, Grammy and Gummer included. The air hobo patriarchs had decided that they would like to fly out to the Far East and jokingly said that they would hope to find the mythical city of Panda-La. Nevertheless it was determined that another air hobo camp would be established sometime soon in a new location.

"Well Kit this is it," Sadie said with slightly teary eyes.

Kit stuck his hand out to Eddie who shook it and said, "Think you'll deal with not being an air hobo?"

Eddie looked at Sadie and said with a smile, "I have a feeling that I'll be just fine. You take care of yourself OK kiddo, or should I say Cloudkicker?"

Kit smiled at the lion and then said to Sadie, "It looks like you two had better get going before you change your minds."

Sadie leaned over to hug Kit and nuzzled his neck and said, "You know Kit, there's been something that I've been wanting to do before I go."

"Whats that," he asked.

"THIS!" she said as she and Eddie immediately began to tickle him. Kit howled with laughter and squirmed in mock-terror. "You didn't think you'd get away that easily did you?" Sadie hissed playfully.

"HAHAHAHA OK OK OK STOP! PLEASE! HAHAHAHA!" Kit laughed.

The teens stopped their assault and Sadie said to him, "I'll miss you Kit, but remember what I said about being a kid OK? Don't grow up too fast on me."

With that she gave Kit a final squeeze and then she and Eddie climbed aboard the cargo plane and headed off into the sunset. Kit watched the plane grow smaller and finally disappear into the distance and with a heavy heart he walked away.

_April to December 1936-_

The next nine months went in a blur for Kit. A week after Sadie and Eddie left for Usland, Kit and the others abandoned the camp. The assembly of air hobos scattered to the four winds and just in time too. Three days after the camp folded, Witherspoon and a team of federal agents came to evict the squatters, but to their dismay(and much to Witherspoon's embarrassment) found the camp deserted. This would be a sure sign that he'd wind up sitting in an office as a desk jockey now instead of being a field agent. A hand written note had been left for him on the door of the Quonset hut.

_Dear Witherspoon  
_

_You missed me…AGAIN! Good luck finding me!_

_Sincerely,_

_CK_

Witherspoon turned bright red with rage and tore the note off of the door. _They knew we were coming! How did they know! And who in the heck is this CK person! _He thought.

Just as Witherspoon was looking stupid in front of his men, Kit was sailing through the skies behind Albert and the _Montanya Express_. Kit had flown to neighboring Donavan's Reef and then hopped a flight with Albert to Crackyertoa. Albert had finally warmed to the idea of letting Kit cloudsurf behind him and the cub was most grateful to his friend for this.

On May 5th Kit celebrated his 11th birthday alone in a small malt shop in New Fedora. The cub slurped his Frosty Pep dessert and looked out at the heavy rains that had come in with the tropical depression. He had been away from the other air hobos for a month now and had reverted back to his pre-air hobo camp life. He was taking odd jobs and moving around constantly. He traveled light and had minimal belongings. Kit had sewn pockets into the inside of his green sweater and used them to keep his stuff in. A large pocket had been fitted into the back of the sweater in which he put his trusty airfoil. He felt that he would do just fine on his own. He missed the other air hobos, but he kept his feelings to himself. What good was moping around and missing someone? It seemed to him that everyone he had gotten close with always went their own way. Kit reasoned that if he didn't have any attachments then he could do what he wanted. Besides, he still had his goal to graduate from airboarder to full-fledged pilot. Maybe if he could find a pilot who would be willing to teach him to fly. He was a good navigator and had helped pilots out with their cargo runs so he felt it was just a matter of time before he met a pilot that would teach him to fly.

"Hey kid, whats on your mind?" asked the skinny stork behind the counter.

"Nothing much," Kit replied.

"You look a little too serious to be enjoying that dessert."

"I'm just thinking is all."

"What about, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Flying," Kit responded matter-of-factly.

"You want to fly kid?" the stork asked.

"I _need _to fly. It's what I think about," Kit said enigmatically.

Kit's travels took him from places as varied as the frigid Arctic outpost of Tundra City to the warm beaches of San't Diego on the west coast of Usland. He spent time living in different places and earned money by assisting pilots and longshoremen with their cargo loads. Kit had decided to keep a low profile wherever he went to avoid any orphan chasing officials. In doing so he stuck to the more downtrodden areas of towns and cities and had more than a few run-ins with nefarious individuals. He narrowly avoided being stuck in the Banana Republic when the country's president was overthrown in a coup by the head of the armed forces, he helped deliver cargo to the wealthy nation of Klopstokia , managed to get away from the vicious pygmies of Patagoita, and sweated his tail off while unloading cargo in a remote village in the Mogabi Desert. Kit forced himself to remain tough in order to avoid being taken advantage of by some of the shady people he ran across. The Depression had seen the rise of many con artists, criminals, and other assorted lowlifes who preyed on the naïve and fool-hearty. Kit did his best to protect himself from these elements and began to trust people a lot less than before. He knew that the world was a tough place full of tough people and the only way he'd survive on his own was to be tough. The cheery cub that the air hobo community had known had been replaced by the live-by-your-wits street-smart kid that he had been before he met them.

_Mid-January 1937-_

Kit's life forever changed on a flight from Krungypoor to Freeport. He was flying with a friendly dog pilot named Steve in a four-engine cargo plane that was laden with several pallets of merchandise. Kit was a little apprehensive to be going back to Freeport and he wasn't sure what he'd do when he got there. He thought about going back to the Home to see Rhett and Trevor, but he figured he'd be apprehended on the spot and forced to live in the orphanage again. He could stay in the harbor area and maybe avoid being seen by people who knew him, but he knew that his best bet would be to stay near the plane and wait for another pilot to fly him out as soon as possible. Suddenly a shadow passed over the plane.

The pilot looked up and said, "I thought that the weather reports said it would be clear skies around Freeport."

High above the plane a large craft moved closer its target. Its bomb bay doors opened and large grapnel hooks were fired at the cargo plane, wrapping themselves around its wings.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" yelled Kit as he looked up at the aircraft's ceiling.

"If it's what I think it is Kit were in trouble," answered Steve the pilot.

As he finished his sentence his engines were hit by gunfire and they sputtered and died. A great lurching motion threw the two of them forward as they were dragged upward. Soon the movement stopped and the sound of hydraulics filled the plane as the bomb bay doors were closed. The plane swayed forward and came to a stop. Kit and Steve looked out of the cockpit window and saw a huge hangar-like area that stretched far in front of them.

"Kit hide, NOW!" shouted Steve as he reached for a crowbar.

Kit did as told and scurried toward the cargo crates and lay on the floor. Steve slowly walked to the center of the plane and prepared for what he knew was going to happen next. A hissing noise started up and a blade of blue-white fire erupted through the door cutting through the locking mechanism. The flame disappeared as the cutting torch was switched off and suddenly the door swung open. Kit peered over a crate and saw the open doorway. Bright light filtered into the cabin and for a moment he couldn't make anything out. Then a figure stepped into the light and all Kit could make out was a tall silhouette.

Then the figure spoke in a heavy accent, "Ahhhhhhh greetings my wonderful hijacked-typed person, it is I…"


	8. Bad Company

_"ALONE, adj. In bad company"-Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce_

"...The illustrious Don Karnage!"

_Don Karnage! _Kit thought as he heard the voice. He peeked up over a crate and beheld the infamous air pirate for the first time: A tall reddish-brown wolf in a blue and red shirt and coat with yellow piping entered the cabin. The wolf carried a curved sword in his right hand and walked with an arrogant swagger. Steve backed up until he was against a stack of crates. He kept the crowbar in his hand ready to strike. The wolf either didn't seem notice that Steve was ready to fight or didn't care. He instead looked around the cargo hold and took in the stacks of crates. Immediately two other air pirates entered in after their leader and took up positions alongside him. One was a skinny, swarthy looking dog with a droopy mustache that brandished a pistol. The other was a hulking gray Great Dane with a bandanna around his neck and a top hat and feather on his head. Across his chest was a bandoleer of bullets. Both henchmen glared at Steve causing him to bring his crowbar up into a batter's stance.

"Careful, careful my friend," said Karnage, "It would not be very wise to swing at I."

On saying this, the skinny dog cocked the hammer on his pistol. Steve focused his attention on the weapon being leveled at his head. As soon as Steve became fixated on the gun, the large Great Dane reached out, grasped the crowbar, and ripped it out of Steve's hands. The three pirates roared in laughter.

"Now that you have given up the metal object you will kindly show me your valuables things," said Karnage.

"Look, go ahead and take the stuff OK? Just let me go," pleaded Steve.

Kit peeked out again and saw the pilot slowly reach into his pocket and withdraw a small object. The pilot moved his hand behind his back and slowly unfolded his knife.

"We are waaaiting," said Karnage.

"Why don't you open it up yourself Karnage," said Steve in a mocking tone.

"Hey boss you can't let him talk to you like that," said the skinny dog in a high pitched voice.

Seeing Karnage turn to face his henchman, Steve struck. The pilot lashed out with the four inch blade, aiming for Karnage's neck. Kit watched as the pilot closed in and then suddenly stopped shy of his target.

"AH-AH-AH, I would not do that if you was I," Karnage said as he pointed downward. Steve looked down and saw that Karnage's sword was half an inch from piercing his stomach. Karnage looked at his sword, then at Steve's knife, then back to his sword, "Mine is bigger!"

As soon as the pirate leader finished talking, his huge assistant punched Steve in the shoulder, causing him to let go of his knife. The weapon clattered to the floor as its owner fell back against the crates and sank down to the floor. Kit watched in horror as the two henchmen grabbed Steve's legs and began to pull him toward them. He realized that he was in the same position that he was in when Vinny and his goons had assaulted Ralph. He had to act now.

Karnage watched as his men grabbed the pilot by the legs and pull him toward the door. Suddenly something unexpected happened: a young brown bear cub jumped up from behind the stack of crates and landed on the top of a cargo box. The cub dived onto the floor, rolled, picked up the pilot's knife and crouched with it at the ready.

"LET HIM GO!" the cub yelled at the top of his lungs.

Both henchmen stopped dragging Steve and let go of his legs.

Karnage looked down at the cub with an amused expression and asked, "What is this? A juvenile delinketywink?"

Kit said in a low voice, "I said let him go."

"Or else what my fuzzy little stowaway?" replied Karnage.

It was now or never: Kit quickly jabbed the blade at the air pirate leader. But he wasn't fast enough. Karnage parried to the left and Kit's thrust touched empty space. With a blinding flash, Karnage's blade made contact with the knife, causing it to fly out of Kit's hand and land several feet away. Kit wasn't finished however; the cub swung his fist at Karnage and made contact…with the hand of the Great Dane. The top hat sporting dog quickly reached out and intercepted Kit's punch and closed his large hand around the boy's fist. He lifted the struggling cub in the air and held him there. Kit swung his free hand and tried to wiggle out of the dog's grip, but it was no use.

"Very good Dumptruck, you have proved that you are not completely slow," said Karnage.

"Der, thanks Captain," answered Dumptruck in a thick, guttural accent.

"Well well, it seems as if we have a hero, yes no?" said Karnage.

"Gee boss he looks kinda puny to be a hero," said the whinny sounding dog.

"Maddog, keep an eye on the pilot while I chat to the boy," said Karnage.

Kit saw Maddog point his pistol at the half conscious Steve. The pilot had hit his head as he fell into the crates and was now in a daze.

"So my boy you think you are the hero-type?" asked Karnage.

"Tell this guy to let me go!" Kit said.

"Dumptruck, let the boy go," ordered Karnage.

Dumptruck yanked Kit up higher then dropped him onto the hard floor. Kit landed tail first causing needles of pain to shoot up his back.

"OUCH YOU JERK!" snapped Kit as he glared up at Dumptruck, "THAT HURT!"

The pirates began to laugh and then Karnage said, "This boy has spirit. You are the defiant-type eh' boy?"

"I'm the 'really ticked off now type' that's what I am!" Kit answered back, showing as much bravado as he could muster.

"You know gentlemens, I thinks I am beginning to like this little ball of fur. He makes me laugh. You amuse me boy," Karnage said with a wolfish smile.

Karnage's henchmen yanked Kit and Steve off the floor and led them into the open bay of the airship. Kit looked around in amazement at the sight before him. The hangar was immense. It stretched off to his left and right at what must have been four or five hundred feet. On one end he saw several tri-winged airplanes. These were the same type of planes that had attacked Kit and Reggie in the _Toro. _He looked up and saw that the ceiling of the craft was at least eight stories over head. Kit was interrupted from his scan of the ship by a rough shove from a short air pirate wearing a green robe. More air pirates entered Steve's plane and proceeded to off load his cargo. Kit looked to the pilot and saw that he had recovered from his daze and now stood with a look of disgust on his face.

"Okey-a-dokey my looted pilot you and your pint-sized friend are of no further use to I," said Karnage as the last of the plane's cargo was unloaded.

"Now I suppose you're gonna open up your hangar doors and make us walk the plank huh?" Steve said sarcastically.

"Do not ah tempt me," said Karnage with a grin.

A squat dog in an orange shirt and yellow jacket walked up to Karnage and whispered something into his ear. Kit noticed that a chunk of flesh had been ripped out of the air pirate leader's ear. Karnage smiled then said, "I have an excellent idea! Gibber, have Jock take us down a bit." The whispering dog moved off to relay the order.

"What do you think they're up too Steve?" whispered Kit.

"I don't know kid, but whatever it is it doesn't sound good," the pilot looked at the boy and smiled at the thought of how brave Kit had acted when confronting the air pirates, "You showed a lot of guts back there Kit."

Kit smiled at the pilot and said, "I was just following your example." All of a sudden it felt to Kit as though the airship was descending. He glanced to Steve who looked at him with a befuddled expression. "Hey! What are you going to do to us?"

Karnage looked down at Kit and said, "Who do you think you're talking at my little prisoner? Do you not know who I am? I am the great Don Karnage"

"Yeah, yeah, you told us. What are you going to do to us?" Kit said angrily.

Karnage was taken aback by the cub's attitude and noticed that his underlings were looking uncertainly at him. They were unaccustomed to seeing their leader disrespected.

"Kit you shouldn't antagonize these guys," said Steve.

"We just can't let them walk all over us without a fight," answered Kit.

"There's too many of them Kit," said Steve.

"You know boy, you should listen to the pilot if you know whats best for you I think," said Karnage.

"I ain't afraid of you or your pirates Karnage!" Kit said defiantly.

"Kit don-," Steve began but was stopped as Karnage pointed his finger at Steve in a gesture to silence him.

"You are either very brave," Karnage hesitated then continued, "Or very stupid boy. I am willing to say that you are very too smarter to be stupid. I, Don Karnage do admire someone who is smart and daring. Pilot get inside your plane, boy stay here."

Kit stood by helplessly as Steve was pushed into his plane. He saw Steve looking at him with a panicked expression on his face. Kit made a move forward but was stopped by Dumptruck who clamped a hand on his shoulder.

"Open the bomb bay doors please Hal," Karnage said into a nearby intercom. A moment later the giant doors creaked open and Steve and the _Skydog _fell out of the airship's hold. Kit instinctively kicked at Dumptruck's leg, which caused him to lose his grip and allowed the cub to dart toward the open bomb bay.

Kit looked out and saw the _Skydog _hit the water a hundred feet below. Despite the hard landing, Steve was alright. The furious pilot stuck his head out of his window and shouted angrily at the air pirates. Karnage and his men howled with laughter and then he said, "I love doing that to peoples! It is ah so much fun to make them think that you are killing them. They thinka you drop them a mile down but I tricked him!"

Kit looked at Karnage with a furious expression and asked, "What are you going to do with me?"

"I have noticed that you are a tough little ball of fur. You have spirit boy and I likey that. Therefore I, Don Karnage, am going to give you a choice. You can either join your friend…" Karnage looked down to the waters below, "Or you can contribute your feistyness and spirit to me."

Kit couldn't believe what he was hearing. Karnage was giving him a choice of jumping into the sea or joining the air pirates! He looked down at Steve and his plane as they began to move out of view and then he looked to the air pirate leader and then to his planes. A thought crossed his mind…_This could be my ticket to becoming a pilot._

"Pirates don't obey laws?" he asked

"Not government laws," answered Karnage.

"They live lives of danger and excitement?" Kit asked.

"My boy, we _are _danger," said the wolf with a smile.

Kit considered everything that was going through his mind: _They're actually giving me a choice! I have an opportunity here. I can prove myself to them and then I can work my way to being a pilot. I've been around plenty of shady people before so what difference does this make? I've survived a lot and I can survive as an air pirate. This is my chance. Steve will be alright, we're not too far from the nearest port, he'll be okay. It's now or never: it's jump or join Cloudkicker, make your choice. _

Kit took a deep breath, "Hey Captain, where do I sign up?

Three days after he joined the air pirates, Kit and the _Iron Vulture_ arrived at Karnage's base of operations: The legendary Pirate Island. Kit watched from the bridge of the vessel as the cloud banks parted with the ship's passing to reveal the volcanic island. Plumes of smoke wafted above the island's center and waves crashed into the craggy rocks below and dozens of seagulls circled about the rocky outcroppings. The great ship made a soft touch down on the surface and faced a wall of rock. Kit watched as Karnage spoke into a transmitter and immediately the rock wall began to slowly open. Kit watched in amazement as the seemingly solid rock opened into an enormous torch lit cavern. A small tugboat approached the airship. A crew of air pirates secured the _Iron Vulture _to the tug and soon the small boat led the ship into its berth. Kit scanned the interior of the great cavern. He estimated it to be almost a third of a mile in length. There were some small buildings inside and what appeared to be a set of railroad tracks. _Why would they need railroad tracks in a cave?_ He wondered. He filed the thought away as the captain spoke to him.

"Bienvendido! My young pirate! Say hay-lo to your new home, Pirate Island!"

"I thought it was just a legend," Kit said.

Karnage laughed, "All the better to not be seen yes, no?"

"Wait! Isn't this a volcano?" Kit asked incredulously.

"You are very observant small one. Who in their right mind would ever suspect anyone would be hidden in a volcano? I am a genius," said Karnage proudly.

Once they disembarked from the airship, Kit was led around by Karnage. He was taken on a quick tour along the way just as he had when he was on the _Iron Vulture. _The pirate leader happily showed off his fortress to his newest member. Kit was shown an area near the docked airship that housed a workshop that was ran by a wolf named Rachet. Rachet, it was explained, had been with the air pirates since the beginning of the organization. Kit followed his guide through corridors that centuries earlier had been active lava tubes. It was explained that there were certain areas that had vast pools of bubbling magma that had been put to use as obstacles to any fool hearted person that dared to enter the island. He was told of numerous other booby-trapped areas that he would be shown in detail later on. The pair passed storage rooms, sleeping quarters, a trail leading toward a dungeon, and Don Karnage's favorite place of all: the Treasure Room.

"Feast your ojos on this," Karnage said as he led Kit into a vast chamber.

Kit's eyes went wide as he took in the stacks of gold coins, gold bars, jewels, bundles of paper currency from various countries, and other assorted valuables. He had never seen so many valuables in one place in his entire life.

"Wow," was all the boy could say.

"I see you are impressed," Karnage said as he saw Kit's expression of awe. "This is the labor of years. I, Don Karnage am but the latest in a line of the world's greatest pirates! This island has been in mi familia for over three hundred years starting with my ancestor Rafael Karnage. He was the first of the family of pirates, but I am the first of the air pirates! I have created my own legacy of honor! And now you can be a part of it." He said as he gently patted Kit on his shoulder.

Kit looked up at his leader with a sly smile, "I'm ready to go to work Capt'n."

Kit was on his knees as he scrubbed the floor of the _Iron Vulture's _bridge. He had been at his task for over a half an hour and was barely halfway through with his work. He had been a member of the crew for over a month and he had yet to do any "pirate" things. That is, unless menial labor counted. He remembered his first day as part of the crew: as soon as Kit had accepted Don Karnage's offer to join his crew, he was led down a gauntlet of imposing air pirates. Each pirate looked down at him as he passed between them. Some had sneers, others had smiles that held no warmth, and others had looks of amusement. It was intimidating, but he did his best to keep a solid expression as he walked among them. Karnage had led him up a lift and onto a catwalk that rimmed the great hangar's expanse. From there the flamboyant pirate captain had led his newest pirate to his quarters. The quarters were actually an unused storage room with an old hammock hanging in it. From there he was turned over to a 40ish gray terrier named Jock. Jock, it turned out, was the ship's flight engineer and one of the original members of Karnage's organization. The little dog led Kit around for a few hours as he showed him the different sections of the 1,500 foot long ship: crew areas, mess hall, engineering and engine room, weapons and storage areas, and many more before they ended at the bridge. Kit was told by Karnage that he would have to start off at the bottom and work his way up as an air pirate. At the bottom of the air pirate hierarchy was the position of cabin boy. While Kit didn't care for scrubbing floors and cleaning up after the others, he did enjoy the opportunities he had to explore the ship. He made it one of his goals to memorize the layout of the entire ship.

"Can you pass the salt?" Kit asked the air pirate that was next to him.

"Git it yerself!" muttered the high-strung, cockney accented pirate named Hacksaw who was too busy playing with his food.

Kit reached out to the nearest salt shaker but had his hand slapped away by a large cat named Hal.

"Hey! I was trying to get that!" Kit said.

"Well then come and get it kid," challenged Hal.

All eyes turned to Kit. He had just been called out and now the others at the table waited for his reaction. He had to do something. No self respecting pirate would allow himself to be cowed into submission. But Kit had already decided on a course of action and he reached into his sweater and jumped up from his chair and onto the table. Hal looked at the cub with surprise in his eyes and was even more surprised when the cub got right in his face and started talking to him in a threatening voice.

"Look Hal, I am sick and tired of your lip! I've been taking it from you for a month now and I'm tired of it. All I wanted was the salt and you had to go and act like a jerk," Kit said with his hands on his hips, "Give me the salt or…"

"Or else what cabin boy?" asked Hal in an angry voice.

The others began to snicker as they saw the large feline question the small cub. They were expecting the boy to shut up and sit back down. They were wrong.

"Give. Me. Back. The. Salt," Kit said deliberately as he poked Hal's nose with his finger.

The air pirates couldn't believe Kit's audacity as he stood up to the bullying air pirate.

Hal reflexively lashed out and grabbed Kit by his sweater and pulled him closer to his face, "Now you listen here kid!"

Kit swung his right arm back and brought it forward and let his yo-yo spool out.

BONK!

The toy beaned Hal hard between his eyes which caused him to lose his grip on Kit.

"OUCH!" Hal yelped as he brought his hands up to his now watering eyes. The other air pirates stared in disbelief as Kit swiped the salt shaker off of the table and went back to his seat. Then they erupted in laughter that was directed toward Hal. The boy proceeded to shake salt on his meat and began to eat it.

"Hey Hal, you got showed up by the cabin boy," laughed Maddog in his whinny voice.

"That's not fair! He sucker punched me!" protested the angry air pirate.

"Hal, the kid got you fair and square mon ami'," said Jock.

Hal glared at Kit and Kit glared back. Finally Kit decided that now was the best time to say what was on his mind. He stood up on his chair which caused everyone including Karnage to focus their attention on him.

Kit took a deep breath and said, "I've been here a month and so far all I've done is put up with all of you. I've cleaned up after you, brought you food, done errands for you. I've swept and mopped and scrubbed so much I'm getting blisters. I've had my food swiped by you and I've put up with your name calling and still I've done my job. I've had hardly any sleep cause you all stick me with the worse watch times. I know I'm just a cabin boy to you all, but I am sick and tired of your treating me like dirt. I joined up to be and air pirate, not your slave. Captain, you said I'd have to work my way up from cabin boy to air pirate. So let me show you that I can be an air pirate."

The air pirates laughed at Kit when he said this last sentence, but the defiant look on Kit's face told them that this was no laughing matter to him. Here he was, an 11 year old bear cub that was alone facing some bad company. Nonetheless he wasn't deterred. "If you think I'm some dumb kid who can't hack it, then you're wrong. I've been around the block before. You laugh now, but I've been through some stuff. I may be a kid, but that doesn't mean that I can't handle being an air pirate. Captain, let me show you what I can do." Kit finished and looked to Karnage.

The air pirate leader sat quiet throughout Kit's speech. He was not used to seeing any of his minions speak like this. _So passionate the boy is, _he thought to himself. He saw the same fighting spirit in the boy that had been displayed when he was first brought aboard the _Iron Vulture. _Karnage thoughtfully stroked his chin as he contemplated the boy. The eyes of his crew were on him as they awaited his decision. "Boy, we shall see if you are as good as you say you are."

The four CT-37 fighters cruised behind their target at a speed of 125 mph stalking their prey like a pack of hungry wolves. Three of the pirate fighters were biplanes, but Don Karnage's was a specially modified tri-winged fighter. The purpose of the modification was two-fold: better maneuverability and distinction. Karnage _wanted _everyone know it was him that was flying. The small fighters had been developed near the end of the Great War by Reichland. The Reichlanders had been at the forefront of aircraft technology among the Central Powers and had developed the speedy aircraft as the next-generation of air superiority fighters. Unfortunately for Reichland(and fortunately for everyone else) the planes never saw combat. The Allied Powers had defeated their Central Power enemies before the new fighters could be fielded and in the aftermath of the war the entire Reichland Air Force had been dissolved as part of surrender terms. It was hinted at that the _Iron Vulture _had been produced by Reichland but never saw combat. At this moment Kit was seated behind Karnage much like he had been when he rode with Major Foxworth. The pirate's target was a lone C-103 Transport. The four engine aircraft was one of the largest civilian aircraft on the market and this particular plane was crewed by a pair of freelance pilots out of Cape Suzette that were en route to Lhasa Apso.

Karnage increased his plane's speed and swooped down toward the transport plane. He glanced over his shoulder to Kit and said, "Boy, get ready!"

"Aye-aye Capt'n," said Kit. The cub stood up from his seat behind Karnage and moved to the C-37's rudder. He held a rope that was attached to the fighter and had a hammer secured to his belt.

Karnage brought the fighter in front of the transport and waved his hand in the air. Kit saw the signal and jumped off the back of the plane.

Inside the transport, the pig pilot and his badger navigator saw a small, tri-winged plane fly in front of them and watched in amazement as a small figure jumped from the back of the plane and rapidly approach them.

"What is that?" Morris the navigator yelled in alarm.

"PIRATES!" screamed Terry the pilot.

The small figure cruised toward them on a large boomerang-looking device and disappeared off to their left.

Kit landed on the wing of the transport and barely managed to avoid falling off. He gained his footing, folded up his airfoil, and took the hammer from his belt. Hammer in hand, he proceeded to pry open the engine panel with the clawed end. As soon as the panel was opened, he went to work smashing the engine.

A warning light came on in the C-103's cabin: "Number Two is out!" yelled Morris to Terry. A few moments later a second warning light came on: "Number One is out too!" Morris yelled.

"My God, they're going to down us!" said Terry as he wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. He reached for his mike and called in a mayday. Suddenly his transmission cut off. "We lost the radio! They must've hit the antenna!"

"No one can hear us?" Morris asked tensely.

"Not unless they're really close Morris," Terry said.

A moment later the pilot took his plane down. He fought the controls and managed to level his plane out as he made an emergency landing on the water. Morris and Terry were jolted forward then shot back into their seats. The two shook their heads and then Terry unbuckled himself and prepared to face his attackers.

On top of the plane, Kit held on for dear life as the craft made its landing. He narrowly avoided being pitched into the water. He raised his head off of the wing and watched as Karnage and the others landed alongside the transport. Suddenly, a hatch in the middle opened up and a pig appeared. The pig held a rifle and took aim at Karnage's second mate, Will. Reflexively, Kit reached for his airfoil and threw it toward the pig like a boomerang. The airfoil hit the barrel of the rifle just as the pig pulled the trigger. The force of the impact caused the shot to go wide as it was knocked out of the pig's hands. The pig looked at Kit with anger in his eyes and watched helplessly as the airfoil ricocheted back to Kit.

"Why you little jerk, I'll get you!" shouted Terry.

"Ah-ah-ah," said Don Karnage as he arrived at the transport on a small raft being rowed by Dumptruck and Gibber. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am the plundering wonder Don Karnage! And if I was yous I wouldn't do anything against my youngest crew member!"

"Karnage. Only someone as insane as you would send a kid to do your dirty work," Terry said upon recognizing the infamous air pirate.

"For your informacion, the boy is actually earning his first paycheck from me, via you," the wolf stated matter-of-factly. Karnage turned to Kit and said, "That was a nice shot my young fur ball."

A broad smile formed on Kit's face and he said slyly, "Aw that was nuthin Capt'n."

A few minutes after the transport had made its emergency landing, three additional aircraft landed. Two were CT-37s piloted by Maddog and Hacksaw and the third was an transport that had been modified from an obsolete military SA-10 that was flown by Hal. With the arrival of the additional pirates, Don Karnage ordered Terry and Morris bound and the cargo cross loaded into the pirate transport. Karnage licked his lips at the cargo that was being offloaded. Boxes marked **Sultan Industries: A Subsidiary of Miniversal Corporation. **According to the pilot's manifest, the boxes contained components for a new type of anti-aircraft cannon system.

"Hmmm, it is very interesting that such an important thing is being transported on a plane that does not even belong to . I think you are smuggling stolen property," said Karnage to the captured crew.

"Look Karnage, I don't ask questions about whats in the boxes. I get paid to take cargo from one place to another. If someone stole it from Sultan then that's their problem and not mine!" snapped Terry.

"You are smugglers, yes no?" asked Karnage, "It does not matter anyways. It belongs to me now. I have someone who may find this very interesting."

"What are you going to do to us?" said Morris timidly.

"I could blow up your plane and leave you two holding onto a lifesaver," Karnage said then added, "But I think I will leave you two alive so you can explain to the personas who hired you that you lost what they had stolen from Sultan."

"But they'll kill us!" Morris said nervously.

"If they don't, then Sultan will. He can be more ruthless than Shere Khan," Karnage said.

10 Minutes later the pirates were in the air having left behind the disabled transport with its two hapless crewmen. Kit wondered if it was true that the two men had been smuggling stolen goods. The more he thought of it the more it made sense. A new type of cannon being transported on a freelance aircraft didn't make sense. Sultan would have had one of his own planes transporting it. If Don Karnage was right then both of those pilots would have to watch out for whoever had stolen the cannon from Miniversal.

Kit wiped the dust off of Don Karnage's desk with a rag and struggled to keep his anger from getting the best of him. It had been two days since he had singlehandedly brought down the smuggler plane and still he was doing menial labor. He joined to be an air pirate and he felt that he had now earned the right to be called one.

"Cabin boy! Clean this, clean that!" Kit said in a falsetto voice as he continued with cleaning Karnage's office. The office was ornately decorated with a high-backed chair, an intricately carved desk, several book shelves, and hand woven tapestries and rugs. All of this had once belonged to wealthy people, but now it was property of the air pirate leader. On one wall hung an old oil painting of Rafael Karnage, the first of the line of Karnage pirates. Kit noticed the striking resemblance between ancestor and descendant. He also wondered if the ancestor spoke of himself in such a self important manner. Kit moved over to a dust a table and stopped to admire a collection of swords that were on the wall above it.

"I am the world's greatest pirate!" Kit said in a spot on impression of Karnage as he took one sword from off of the wall. "It is I, the man who needs no introduction, Don Karnage!" Kit jabbed and swung at thin air as he pretended to be the air pirate leader. "I'm the one who should be a pirate," said Kit, "But no, I'm just the little cabin boy. Well I'll show them!"

Kit swung the sword a few more times and then went to return the sword to its place on the wall. All of a sudden he felt something sharp at his back.

"Well well well my little cabin boy, I see you thinks you should be a pirate."

_Karnage! _Kit thought. The cub slowly turned around to face his boss. "Uh, boss I was just going to dust this off and then put it back," he explained lamely.

"Guard yourself," Karnage said as he took up a fighting stance.

"What?" asked a wide-eyed Kit.

"En garde!" Karnage shouted as he lunged at Kit with his sword. Kit jumped to his right and brought the sword up in front of him. Karnage swung left and hit Kit's blade hard. The force of the blow caused pain to reverberate into Kit's hand and wrist and he lost his grip on the weapon. It flew out of his hand and landed on the carpeted floor. Karnage swiped his blade at Kit causing the boy to jump to the floor. He landed on his chest and immediately began to crawl to the fallen sword. Just as he was about to reach it Karnage's blade came down an inch from his nose.

"You have much to learn about sword fighting boy," Karnage said as he removed his blade from in front of Kit's nose, "Pick up the sword." Kit got to his knees, grabbed the sword, and stood up. "Now you will mimic what I do yes?" Karnage bent slightly at the knees, raised his left hand behind his head, and thrust his blade forward. Kit hesitated a moment then copied Karnage's posture. Karnage swung his blade downward then brought it up in a defensive posture. Kit did the same. For the next two hours, Karnage had Kit perform a variety of different stances and moves with the sword. He had Kit parry and thrust, duck and move, and bob and swing. Once he finished with his instruction he said, "Very good boy, I believe you may have the potential in you."

"You do Capt'n?" Kit asked.

Karnage only smiled at the cub, then walked away.

"Hey Kit, Capt'n wants to see you," said Will.

"Where does he want me?" asked Kit who was lying on his back reading a copy of the superhero comic _Bullethead._

"Follow me," said the second mate.

A few minutes later Kit found himself with the other pirates who had gathered around a wooden platform. On top of the platform stood Karnage, "Boy get up here!"

Kit ran to the platform's steps and scrambled to Karnage. The pirate leader motioned for him to turn and face the assembled pirates.

"My fellow pirates, Karnage began, "I would like to introduce you the newest member of my honorable noble air pirates… Kit!"

As soon as Karnage finished saying this, Kit felt Karnage reach around his neck. Kit looked down and saw that Karnage was tying a blood red scarf around his neck.

"You are now an air pirate boy," Karnage whispered into his ear.

An enormous sense of pride surged through Kit's body, causing him to grin from ear to ear. As one the other pirates raised their fists and cheered. Kit's promotion had given the pirates a cause for celebration. After the celebration, Kit went to his thinking spot. The thinking spot was a seldom used tunnel that led to an opening that overlooked the ocean. Here was where he would go when he didn't want to be around the other pirates and where he could avoid 'cabin boy duties'. Now he stood at the mouth of the cave and watched as a bright full Moon rose over the horizon. The great orb brightened the waters before him and cast a tall shadow behind the cub. He looked at the red scarf around his neck and then at his shadow and smiled. _Kit Cloudkicker, the Scourge of the Skies! _He thought to himself as he stood tall.


	9. Air Pirate

"_Fifteen men on a dead man's chest: Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum,"-Robert Louis Stevenson_

"Hey Jock, I have a question for you," Kit said to the scruffy engineer. Kit was inside the engine room of the _Iron Vulture _assisting Jock with some routine engine maintenance that the engineer was conducting.

"What is it mon garcon?" asked the terrier.

"Where did the _Iron Vulture _come from? I mean Don Karnage didn't build it did he?" asked Kit.

"Ha, Don Karnage build anything? Never. He got her the old fashioned way. He stole her," answered the engineer with a smile.

"Who did he steal her from? Usland? Thembria?" Kit asked.

"No, neither. He stole it from Reichland. Of course Usland and Thembria had been working on their own but none had ever entered service," said Jock.

"Why not?" asked Kit.

"The Great War ended before anyone could use them. This one was slated for the scrap heap after the war and notre capitaine stole it before it could get there," said Jock.

"When was that, right after the War?" Kit asked.

"Oui, it was 1919 and right after the Mersailles Treaty was signed," the engineer paused for a moment and then looked at Kit with a smile, "Would you like to listen to a story mon ami?"

"That'd be swell," said Kit who sat on a stair step and put his chin in his hand.

"Well, it was in late August of 1919, the 24th if I remember correctly…" started Jock.

"You were there?" asked Kit with amazement.

"Who did you think got him aboard?" said Jock with a wink.

For the next hour and a half, the engineer told his young assistant of the events that led to Don Karnage stealing the _Iron Vulture _and how he later formed the air pirates. He explained that the 19 year old Karnage had been a volunteer pilot for Reichland and had become well respected as a fighter pilot. Karnage had a handful of other volunteers had served for 18 months and had become one of Reichlands most effective fighter squadrons. After the War, Karnage and his men were dismissed from service when Reichland's air force was abolished. Out of a job and low on cash, Karnage and his men decided to turn to crime. He intended to follow in the footsteps of his pirate ancestors and decided that he would need a vessel of his own. He learned of the great air carriers that had been built and were scheduled to be scrapped through a disgruntled aircraft mechanic/engineer from Gaul. The Gaulish terrier had turned against his government when it seized his family's farm for the purpose of building a new factory and had given the family next to nothing in return. As luck would have it, the terrier was to serve as an engineer on one of the air carriers as it was transported to Gaul. He met Karnage and the two of them made arrangements to smuggle Karnage and his men aboard. Once airborne, Karnage, three fellow pilots, and a young mechanic hijacked the air carrier from its skeleton crew. Planes were sent up to attack the _Iron Vulture _and Karnage reacted by leading two of his pilots to a counter attack with the CT-37s that were aboard. In the air battle his two pilots were killed and Karnage had had a chunk of his ear shot off by a rival Reichland air ace named Heinz Jager. The two were rated as the best pilots in the air force and had developed a mutual dislike for each other. In retaliation for his ear, Karnage damaged Jager's plane and forced him to break off pursuit which allowed the hijackers to escape to their destination: Pirate Island. From there the remaining hijackers repaired and modified the _Iron Vulture _and went on to recruit more members. With the theft of the great ship, the Allies concocted a story that the hijacked ship had been shot down into the ocean where it sank, thus they avoided a major political embarrassment. For several years no one had heard anything of Karnage or the _Iron Vulture. _Nothing until 1923 when the first air pirate attacks began…

"And that mon garcon, is how Karnage got this fine lady and how the air pirates formed," finished Jock.

Kit just smiled in awe.

The Khan Industries air freighter was flying at an altitude of 4,500 feet and had just entered the clouds when the air pirates struck. Karnage had his air carrier hiding in the thick clouds, ready to ambush any pilots who were careless enough to come to close. The two panther pilots were not careless, in fact as they only flew through the clouds in order for the senior pilot to show the young trainee pilot how to safely fly through clouds.

"Just remember, pay attention to the weather reports, always check your compass and barometer, and never go through storm clouds," said Captain Mansley.

"What if I'm behind schedule, should I risk it?" asked pilot trainee Holmes.

"And risk 's cargo? Go right ahead if you want to answer to the big man himself. Me personally, I try to avoid any unnecessary risk," said Mansley.

"Well what if we get engaged by air pirates?" asked Holmes with a nervous pitch in his voice.

"We take evasive maneuvers and prepare to defend the plane," answered Mansley, "Why do you ask?"

"Cause I think we're being engaged," the young trainee said as he pointed out the cockpit window.

Mansley followed the younger pilot's finger and saw a small figure descending toward the plane. Before he could yank the steering wheel and move the plane, the small figure collided with the cockpit window sending a shower of glass into the cockpit. The figure entered in feet first on a crescent shaped device. The air pirate landed on the floor and skidded through the open cockpit door into the cargo area.

"Did you see that?" exclaimed Holmes.

"Hey are you alright?" asked the captain as he took the controls and worked to lower the plane's altitude.

"I'm fine, but I think we've been boarded sir," said Holmes.

"I'm taking us lower, go back there and get him and I'll call for help!" said Mansley as he reached for the mike.

In the cargo bay, Kit struggled to regain his bearings and shook his head, "That landing didn't go as planned," said the cub as he stood up.

"Hey, You there!" yelled a young panther in a Khan pilot's jacket.

"Uh-oh," said Kit as the panther moved in toward him. Kit darted to the left then ran at full speed to the cabin entrance.

Holmes fell against a stack of crates as the wind shot through the cabin and couldn't stop the small air pirate from rushing the cabin.

Kit ran into the cabin and slammed the door shut and locked it, leaving the trainee stuck in the cargo bay. "Land this plane right now!" he yelled above the wind.

The steely eyed panther got his first look at his hijacker: a small cinnamon colored bear cub in a green sweater holding a large boomerang. "You've got to be kidding me," he said incredulously.

"Land us now!" Kit said sternly.

"Make me you little scumbag," yelled the pilot.

"You had your chance!" Kit yelled back as he produced a hammer from his sweater and repeatedly struck the control panel.

"What are you doing? Are you crazy?" screamed the pilot as the cub disabled the controls. Mansley fought to keep his plane under control but couldn't stop its rapid descent. He used every ounce of control that he had to keep the plane in a steady line of descent as he was forced into an emergency landing. The pilot looked at the cub with anger in his eyes and saw that the boy had strapped himself into the co-pilot's seat in preparation for a hard landing. "You better pray that we land safely or I'm gonna skin your hide kid!" yelled the pilot. Thirty seconds later the plane made a rough landing in the water. The force of the landing slammed Holmes into the closed cockpit door and knocked him unconscious. Up front Mansley received whiplash and Kit almost lost his lunch. Once the plane came to a stop Mansley saw the cub unstrap himself and exit out the cockpit window.

Kit climbed on top of the downed plane and pulled a flare gun from one of the pockets that were sewn into his sweater. He fired a flare into the air and soon his fellow pirates appeared and landed alongside the Khan plane. The air pirates entered the plane and plundered its cargo from the two Khan men. The pirate transport had landed and was now laden with crate after crate of Khan property. Kit hitched a ride back on the transport just minutes before a flight of Khan fighters appeared on the scene.

"You did very well my young pirate," said Don Karnage.

"It was nothing Capt'n," said Kit with a little cockiness in his voice.

Karnage smiled at the cocky cub and thought to himself, _Perhaps this one has more potential than the others._ Karnage knew his present company had a noticeable lack of _intellect _and many other things and he thought that the boy had it in him to one day be a formidable pirate. _We shall see how the boy turns out. _

Over the next few months, Kit had continued to take an active part in the hijackings and plunderings and had gathered more praise from Karnage. Unfortunately he was still viewed as 'just a kid' by many of his fellow air pirates. He felt that some of them had felt threatened by his successes and soon he was once again putting up with taunts and name-calling by many of the others. Nevertheless, he did his best to ignore them and continued to do well. He had one mess up since he joined and that was when he allowed a transport to roll him off of its wing as he attempted to disable one of its engines. He had one engine stopped but the Miniversal pilot had tipped his wing and caused Kit to roll off. The plane made its escape and Kit was left hanging by a rope around his waist. He was unceremoniously reeled into the _Iron Vulture _and had to face the laughter of the other pirates as he hung from a crane in the ship's hangar. Everyone thought it was funny, except for Karnage who berated him for his failure.

"You got the too cockiness boy! You let them get away! I thought you were dependable," snapped the wolf as Kit hung suspended.

Kit tried to reason with Karnage that no one was perfect. He made the mistake of pointing out the fact that Karnage and the others had let people get away. "But boss, I'm not the only one who's let someone get away. What about that time we were between Bambezi and Crabtown and you let that plane get away?"

The assembled pirates gasped as one at Kit's question. _Uh-oh now I did it, _Kit thought.

"What did you just say?" asked Karnage as he shot Kit a look that could melt ice.

"Umm, nothing sir," Kit said.

"Boy! You are on the little fine thin line with me! You must pay for this insolence!" said Karnage.

Kit did pay; he got no food and very little water for three days, hardly any sleep from doing hours of menial labor, and had been ruthlessly made fun of by the other pirates.

Luckily, Kit had managed to get back into Karnage's good graces and now he was once again proving himself to be a worthy air pirate.

_May 5__th__ 1937-_

On the day Kit turned 12 he got two surprises. The first was when he was tackled by several of the pirates. They had remembered that Kit had mentioned his birthday a couple weeks earlier and had decided to give him 12 swats on his backside. One for every year times the number of pirates that jumped him. There were 5 of them. The pirates had swatted him in jest, but they were bigger and stronger and caused Kit a considerable amount of pain. Hal and Dumptruck had been the worse whereas Maddog had hit like a girl. Afterward Kit was lucky enough to be served extra helpings of food which helped to alleviate his pain.

His second surprise was a summons by Don Karnage.

"You wanted to see me Capt'n?" Kit asked as he stood at the door to Karnage's office.

"Come in my boy," said the wolf who was sitting with his legs on his desk.

Kit entered and stood in front of his boss.

"I see it is your birthday today, yes no?" said Karnage.

"Yes it is," Kit paused then added, "I'm twelve."

"Ahhhh feliz cumpleanos para ti my young protégé'" said Karnage.

_Protégé' what's he mean by that? _Kit wondered.

"I see by the look on your face that you don't know what I mean," said Karnage.

"I don't know sir," said Kit shyly.

"It means that you are more promising than the rest of my noble, yet unintelligent pirates," answered Karnage, "It means that I think you can someday be a truly great pirate and a leader."

"Oh, well um thanks Capt'n," said a humble Kit.

"You have a bright future as a pirate me thinks. And now I, the great Don Karnage, now have a pirate who is worthy to be my protégé'. You will be someone someday my boy."

Kit stood silently and thought, _He actually thinks I am worthy to be what? His successor? If he does then, wow He really thinks highly of me! I can be the greatest air pirate ever! He really believes in me!_

"Boy, if you keep up the good work, you will truly be a force to be reckoned with," said Karnage matter of factly.

Kit smiled at what Karnage had said, _a force to be reckoned with_.

A week after he turned 12, Kit and the air pirates went to Cape Suzette…or tried to. Karnage's plan was simple: Hide in the fog and sneak into the city.

"There is going to be heavy fog fore casted for Cape Suzette tomorrow and I, with my brilliant mind, have surmised that we can sneak in, plunder, and leave before dawn. I am a genius yes no!" said Karnage.

"Gee boss, how do you come up with these ideas?" asked Maddog in his nasally voice.

"It is because I am intellectually superior Maddog," answered Karnage to his underling.

Early the next morning the _Iron Vulture _cruised in the fog toward Cape Suzette. Inside the cabin all lights were off save for the tactical lights that illuminated the cabin with an eerie red glow. The light made Karnage's reddish-brown fur look even more red than normal. Kit had noticed the wolf's coloring before and thought he looked a little different from other wolves.

"Hey Capt'n you look a little redder than usual. As a matter of fact you're pretty red for a wolf," said Kit.

"I get that from my Mother," said Karnage, "She is one foxy lady."

A quizzical look crossed Kit's face when he heard this from his boss. _I wonder…_

Karnage's plan depended on the ability to hide in the fog and remain unseen by the Cape Suzette cliff gun crews. However he did not take into account the need for silence.

"Hey do you hear something sergeant?" asked a young soldier to his gun crew leader.

The gruff goat sergeant pricked up his ears and caught the faint sound of engines in the distance. "I don't think we have anything scheduled to come through this early, its barely past 0300. Let me call this up to base."

"No, we don't have anything scheduled to come in this early and we haven't received any radio traffic from anyone," said the giraffe lieutenant that manned the fire control desk.

"Well whatever it is it sounds like its getting closer. With the fog being so heavy the sound is carrying and it sounds big," said the sergeant into the phone.

"Wait, you said it sounds big? Look sergeant, have your men keep a look out and be ready to fire. I think I may know what this is," said the lieutenant.

"Are you thinking air pirates sir?" asked the sergeant.

"Yes, ol' Karnage must be trying to take advantage of the heavy fog. Keep your eyes peeled. I'm going to go ahead and alert the airfield," said the lieutenant.

"We are almost there Capt'n," said second mate Will to Karnage.

"Bueno! With this heavy fog the Cape Suzette gunners will never see us! I am such a smart type guy!" said Karnage.

"But what about the sound of our engines Capt'n?" asked Kit.

Karnage's eyes went wide as Kit's question sank in. "Jock! Quiet the engines! Shut them off!"

"But Capitaine, if we do will go down. We can't glide in," said Jock.

Four Usland Army Air Corps fighters roared down the runway and into the sky toward the cliffs. The pilots had been told to investigate a possible incursion by air pirates and each was pumped full of adrenalin.

"Bird's nest this is Sparrow 6 we are approaching the cliffs, over," said the Captain leading the fighters.

"Roger Sparrow 6, be advised that there is very heavy fog so keep a sharp eye out," said the flight controller.

Down below, the cliff gunners heard the air pirate ship rapidly approaching them.

"Yup, that's gotta be Karnage. Fire off a couple flares," said the sergeant. Immediately two flares went skyward and exploded into the fog. The ghostly image of the _Iron Vulture _stood out from the fog surrounding it.

"That's the _Iron Vulture! _Open fire!" ordered the Jaguar cliff gun officer.

CRUMP! CRUMP!

"Boss, we're being shot at!" whinnied Maddog.

Kit heard the anti-aircraft shells exploding near the _Iron Vulture _and saw Karnage leap from his chair. The wolf pointed out the viewing window. Kit followed his leader's gaze and saw the lights of four approaching aircraft. Two seconds later a burst of machine gun fire strafed the airship.

"They are shooted at me!" screamed Karnage, "Get us out of here before more come!"

Slowly the great vessel turned and fled as its defensive guns fired wildly at the attacking fighters. Before the ship turned, Kit managed to catch a quick glimpse of the city beyond the cliffs. Through the fog he could see a brightly lit skyline dominated buy a towering skyscraper. Then as quickly as the city appeared, it disappeared into the fog.

"I can't see a thing through these clouds," said the Khan Industries pilot to his copilot.

"You sure you wanna go above them? We could go below," said the copilot.

"Nope. It looks like its going to rain soon and I don't feel like getting caught in bad weather," answered the pilot.

"What about lightning?" asked the copilot.

"Don't worry about it, we're almost through," said the pilot.

They expected clear blue skies as they broke through the clouds. What they got instead was a gaping blackness.

"What the he-," The copilot said but was cut off by the pilot.

"Its air pirates!" yellowed the pilot,"

The plane had inadvertently flown into the _Iron Vulture._

"Close the beak and prepare to plunder my pirates!" cried Karnage from the railing of a catwalk. The Khan plane's pilots were forced to land inside the cavernous bay and immediately a group of pirates rushed forward to surround it. Karnage grabbed a PA mike and spoke into it, "Attention dear Khan pilots. You will kindly exit your plane and let my noble pirates take your cargo."

The pilots had other plans however: They had heard how a previous Khan aircraft had been looted by the pirates and that plane's crew hadn't put up a fight. Both had paid for their lack of action with their jobs. Khan could be quite unforgiving. Therefore the pilot and copilot had decided that they would fight back. They planned to come out one behind the other with the man in the back carrying a sawed off shotgun. The lead man would jump to the floor and the man behind him would fire buckshot at the pirates. The lead man would pull out a pair of handguns and lay down fire as the other pilot went for the bomb bay doors. With luck they'd get to their plane before it fell out, start the engines, and be on their way. They knew the odds were against them, but they reasoned that facing the air pirates was better than facing Khan.

Kit walked out onto the starboard catwalk, drawn to the hangar by the events unfolding there. He looked down and saw his fellow pirates surrounding a Khan Industries plane. Karnage was farther down the catwalk and was watching his crew at work. He saw the transport's side door open and saw two panther pilots walk out, one behind the other. He watched as the two slowly moved forward at the pirates command and then something happened. The first pilot seemed to trip and fall to the ground. The pirates started laughing but as soon as they began to laugh a loud roar filled the hangar. Time seemed to slow down as he watched the Khan pirate fire his shotgun into the crowd of pirates. One of the pirates was thrown back to the floor. The pilot on the ground rose up and began to fire at the now scrambling air pirates. Karnage was screaming out orders, but these were drowned out by a volley of gunfire from the pirates. The shotgun wielding pilot staggered back and fell to the floor, skidding backward as he landed. The pistol armed pilot jerked back, then slumped to his knees and fell face first into the floor. An eerie quiet filled the hangar as the smoke from the gunfire cleared. Kit looked down and saw the prone figures of the two pilots and one pirate. His heart thumped loudly and his knees wobbled as the reality of what he had just witnessed began to sink in.

The air pirates gathered alongside the open bomb bay to pay their respects to one of their own. The skinny ferret called Lankey had been with the crew for three years and was known to be a dependable, if not spastic, pirate. His body was wrapped in a white sheet and was being carried to the open bomb bay by four of his compatriots. Earlier the bodies of the two Khan pilots were thrown out into the sea along with their stripped plane.

Karnage stepped next to the body and said in a somber tone, "Lanky was a noble pirate. He was one of the best pirates. Who here will ever forget the times he took part in our plundering? How he single handedly snuck his fellow pirates into the bank vault in New Fedora? Or how he used to make us all laugh with his funny humor? Lanky we now commit your body to the sea in the traditions of our ancient pirate brethren. And we commit your soul to the great pirate treasure in the sky! A toast to our fallen pirate!"

A bottle of rum was passed along to each pirate to take a drink in honor of their fellow air pirate. When the bottle reached Kit, he took a swag and felt the warm liquor go down his throat. The alcohol burned on the way down and he had to force himself not to gag. He then passed the bottle on. It reached Karnage, who took a drink, and then placed the bottle on top of the sheet covered body. He then gave a signal to his pirates who stood ramrod stiff as Lanky's body was dropped into the air. Kit watched with a nervous realization that, had he been in the hangar a few minutes earlier, it could have been him being drunk to.


	10. Fall from Innocence

"_Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster"-Friedrich Nietzsche_

_November 1937-_

It had been a few months since the shoot out on the _Iron Vulture _and everything had long returned to normal. Don Karnage was still plundering and plotting to raid Cape Suzette and Kit was still unable to get to fly. He had had one chance to fly and he botched it. He had been allowed to pilot Maddog's plane with Maddog along, but Kit had over compensated on turning and had made the plane do a barrel roll. Maddog had accused Kit of showing off and ordered him to land in the channel leading to Pirate Island's main entrance. Kit did his best to land, but had ended coming in too fast. The plane went tail over nose and threw the two out along the way. The plane had to be righted and then taken to Rachet for repairs. The skinny dog had berated Kit and made sure that no one would let him fly. Karnage had allowed his pilots to decide whether or not to let Kit practice in their planes. No one would though and so Kit had been stuck as being a passenger. He had also endured many taunts and jibes from his botched landing. The cub was beginning to feel like a complete outsider among the crew. It had become known that Don Karnage had taken Kit under his wing as a protégé and resentment had followed. Despite his status as Karnage's favorite, Kit had received no flight training from his patron. He did however still get periodic sword lessons.

Kit sat in his thinking spot and thought about how he could finally show the Captain that he was ready to be a pilot. He enjoyed his role as an air pirate, but was growing more and more disenchanted with the whole business. He wanted to fly, _needed _to fly. _Maybe I can still do something so great on a plunder that the Capt'n will finally teach me himself to fly. All I need is a big opportunity to prove myself to them all…_

"Ah-ha! Gentlemens, listen to my new stupendous plot!" said Karnage to Gibber, Dumptruck, and Maddog, "I have a most brilliant plan!"

"What is it boss?" asked Maddog.

"We are going to plunder a bunch of rich people-types on a Zeppelin!" answered Karnage.

"What Zeppelin boss?" asked Dumptruck in his guttural voice.

"The _Queen of the Skies!" _said Karnage, "It is a luxury airship and will be flying across the ocean. We will intercept and pillage!"

"How do we know it'll have a lot to plunder?" asked Maddog.

"Because my non-thinking smart friend, rich people travel in them. And I, with my genius mind have surmised that there will be rich people with rich things there. Plus they cannot escape quickly."

"When do we plunder it?" asked Maddog.

"According to this flight schedule I have, that I got from a newspaper, it is scheduled to leave Cape Suzette in three days en route to Reichland. It has many stopovers, but we shall get it before it reaches Port Snorsby! Is this not an example of my skillful strategically thinkingness?"

"Der yes Capt'n," said Dumptruck.

Gibber just nodded and thought to himself, _I never get any credit for any of my ideas…_

_November 8__th__ 1937-_

The 803 foot long _Queen of the Skies, _AKA _Konigin der Himmel _in Reichlander, flew slowly through the narrows that separated Cape Suzette from the ocean. The luxury zeppelin had just lifted off from the city's airport on the first leg of its return journey to its home in Reichland. The giant airship was the pride of Reichland's air travel industry and was considered to be the most prestigious civilian air transport ever built. Despite its relatively slow maximum speed of 85 mph, it was still sought after by many who chose to fly in style as opposed to flying on airplanes. The airship was one of 8 in its class and had a waiting period of over 6 months. It flew with a full complement of 61 crew and 72 passengers. Among the passengers was the third richest man in the world.

39 year old Baron Erich Riebolt, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Riebolt Enterprises, sat in the writing room of the airship and gazed out at the cliffs as they went by. Here and there small buildings dotted the cliff wall, connected by stairs and wooden bridges. Above on the cliff tops were the city's primary defenses. The Baron knew that a contingent of just over 60 fighters served to defend the city and were augmented by a small amount of Coast Guard and Navy vessels as well as Army units that were on the outskirts of the city. _So little defenses for a city of this size, they are too comfortable behind their 'wall', _thought the Baron. He had been in Cape Suzette on business and had taken the time to notice the city's defenses. He surmised that while the city was more than capable to ward off the occasional air pirate plot, it wouldn't stand an all out assault. _They're too complacent, _He thought. In war, as well as business, complacency could get you killed.

The Baron had spent his time in Cape Suzette presiding over the opening of a factory and having dinner with Shere Khan. That had been the hardest part of his trip. He knew about Khan's past with his wife Elsie, but reasoned that it was just a youthful fling that had meant nothing. Besides, he and Elsie hadn't been married at that time. Elsie was currently home with their young son Maximilian. The two decided it was wise that he go to Cape Suzette alone and dine with Khan. He could only imagine what would've happened if she'd accompanied him. Brushing the thoughts of his wife and Khan away, the fox turned his thoughts to his upcoming meeting with Randolph Sultan whom he would be meeting in Port Snorsby. Sultan was there on vacation and had invited Riebolt to discuss business with him. Riebolt would do the same thing with Sultan that he did with Khan: work to gather any information he could get. He would take what he learned and brief Chancellor Hentrich and the other Hauser Party senior members when he arrived back in Reichland. _Chancellor Hentrich would be more than interested to learn that Khan has been spending more attention to civilian related industries and not enough on military contracts. Hopefully Sultan will be the same way. These fools have been spending too much time trying to out-do one another and had done little to stem the depression. At least Chancellor Hentrich had socialized much of Reichland and had restored its industrial base. The fools had no idea what the Fatherland was capable of. _

"Thinking sir?" asked the older wolfhound.

"Oh just going over some business matters Alois," Riebolt said.

"Cape Suzette is a pleasant place. Pity its leaders are so ineffectual," said Alois.

"They are only concerned with themselves. Usland as a whole seems to care only of itself. They say isolation is important and that they can fix their own problems. While they have people out of work and on the streets, Reichland is strong again," said Riebolt with pride.

"This city would be a jewel in Reichland's crown Erich. I think it should be stressed to the chancellor and the rest of the consortium that Cape Suzette would be an ideal starting point," said the wolfhound to his young friend. The 65 year old wolfhound had proudly served the Baron's late father and had continued to serve Erich in running his industrial empire. He had even introduced the young fox to the enigmatic Adolphus Hentrich in 1933, shortly before Hentrich's Hauser Party had been elected. Since the Hauser's ascendancy, business had been booming for Riebolt Industries.

"Yes it would Alois. Elsie and I have spoken of it and she and her side of the family both agree with your assessment. It's a pity I had to have dinner with Khan, otherwise I would have loved to bring her and Max to Cape Suzette."

"She would have enjoyed that. Besides my boy, that wife of yours is a cunning business person herself," said Alois.

"Sometimes I think she's too cunning," Erich said with a smile.

Aboard the _Iron Vulture _Don Karnage paced back and forth as he awaited the _Queen of the Skies _to cross their path.

"Soon I, the great Don Karnage, will be plundering the most prestigious airship in the world!"

"Well it sure is taking its time getting here," said Kit with a hint of sarcasm.

"Impatient my boy? I thinks you can't wait to plunder. Oh I have raised you right," said Karnage proudly.

Kit couldn't wait. Karnage had explained his plan to Kit and given him the most important role in the hijacking. Kit knew that this was the BIG ONE. This was the big job in which he would finally earn everyone's respect and be allowed to fly. There were going to be a bunch of rich people aboard that were going to be taken hostage and it was up to Kit to get the air pirates aboard. Everything hinged on him and the stakes were high. He wouldn't have it any other way.

"I'll show them. This is going to be my turn to shine!" Kit said quietly.

_Late afternoon, November 8__th__ 1937-_

"We are approximately an hour and a half from Port Snorsby Captain," said the young stork navigator to his captain.

"I hate being off schedule. If it wasn't for the detour around the storm we would've been there right about now," said the tall wolf captain.

"Sir, should I increase the speed?" asked the ship's flight lieutenant.

"No , we're going to be behind schedule anyway. We may as well conserve fuel and allow our passengers to eat dinner," said Captain Anhalt.

The zeppelin continued on its way toward its first stop, completely oblivious to the danger that was closing in from above.

A flurry of activity was going on aboard the _Iron Vulture. _The air pirates were preparing for the hijacking and plundering of the _Queen of the Skies. _A large gondola had been suspended to a large crane that sat on the floor of the hangar. The gondola would lower Don Karnage and his pirates to the zeppelin so they can begin their pillaging. Once they were complete, the gondola would be raised with the pirates, their looted valuables, and an unfortunate wealthy people. Karnage had planned of ransoming the rich once he had safely left the area. Karnage didn't normally take prisoners, but he couldn't pass up this opportunity.

Gibber came to Karnage's side and whispered into his ear. Karnage pulled away and said, "Gentlemens, the _Queen of the Skies _is in sight. Be ready to begin the pillaging in ten minutos!"

Kit stood on the hangar floor as he awaited his cue. He was dressed in a brown boy's suit as opposed to his usual green sweater and red scarf. He had been told that once he was on board the dirigible he would need to blend in with the passengers. He was unaccustomed to wearing such expensive clothes but he had seen the logic behind the choice of attire. He was lucky that the boy's suit was part of a shipment of clothes that had been plundered a few weeks earlier. In addition to the suit, he had a rope tied around his waist that had a mountaineering carabineer attached to it. He wore a small backpack that contained a pair of thick gloves, a flare pistol, a hammer, and the cap that went to the suit. Hacksaw tied another length of rope around Kit. This rope was connected to a large spool that was next to the crane and gondola. Dumptruck came up to Kit and handed him a grapnel rifle. Kit took the rifle, inspected it, and slung it over his shoulders. He then turned and faced his captain.

Karnage looked at his protégé and gave him a cursory inspection. He saw that the boy had all of his necessary gear and was confident that he would be able to execute his role in the overall plan. Gibber came to him again and whispered that the _Queen of the Skies _was in front of and below them. It was time to get the show on the road. He looked at the boy and gave him a nod.

Kit returned his captain's nod with a cocky smile then he turned and took off at a sprint. He ran toward the open bomb bay and jumped airfoil in hand. As he fell out of the _Iron Vulture _he opened his airfoil, stood on it, and cruised down toward the airship.

Kit soared down through the air, leaning forward, in order to pick up speed. The cold air whipped against his body and sent chills to his bones. The feeling exhilarated him as he homed in on his target. As he neared the zeppelin, he leaned back to slow himself and prepared for his landing. The cub swept pasted the zeppelin's tail by the closest of margins. He came in above the top of the airship and jumped off of his airfoil from a foot off the airship's surface. He hit the surface running and immediately tucked and rolled on his side. He rolled to a stop and lay face up, panting with excitement.

"OUCH!" he exclaimed as he felt the grapnel rifle digging into his back. He stood up and looked around the airship and found what he was looking for; a metal loop connected to the outer skin of the zeppelin. According to Rachet, the metal loop was connected to the skeletal frame that spanned the length of the zeppelin. Kit noticed that there were several metal loops going down the length of ship. Kit untied the rope from around his waist and tied it into the buckle nearest him then he looked up toward the _Iron Vulture. _The pirate flagship was now directly above the _Queen of the Skies_. The cub jumped up and down and waved his arms.

Don Karnage had been watching Kit's progress through his hand held telescope. He watched as his young protégé fell toward the ship, landed, and stood up. Now the boy was jumping up and down, and waving his arms to signal that he was ready for the next phase in the plan.

"Dumptruck, our little ball of fur has landed. You may feel free to do as I say and let the rope go," said Karnage

"Yes sir Capt'n sir," Dumptruck answered in his deep voice. The air pirate took a sword and cut it from the spool. He picked up the rope that was connected to the airship, and threw it out of the bomb bay.

Kit watched as the rope feel toward the ship and hit its curved top and slide down over the edge. He saw the rope go taunt at his end and could now begin the next part of his role.

"Sir, did you feel that? It felt like something pulled at our starboard side," said .

"I felt it too," said Captain Anhalt. The captain looked out of the cabin's side windows and saw nothing but clouds and sky. "Odd, but I don't see anything that could've caused that."

If the Captain Anhalt had leaned his head out the window and looked right he would have seen the rope that hung down from the airship's top.

Kit took the rope and slipped it into his carabineer, next he reached into his backpack and withdrew the pair of heavy gloves. He slipped the backpack and rifle back on and then took the rope in his hands. "Well here goes," he said and with that he began to walk backward down the side of the zeppelin. A few meters on he leaned back, bent his knees, and began to rappel down the side of the airship.

Karnage watched as Kit bounded down the side of the _Queen of the Skies _and smiled. "Soon I will be more richer!" he said gleefully.

Kit continued bounding down the side of the ship and soon came to the point where the airship curved away from him. Seeing this he took one more long bound and dropped below the curve. He was now hanging several feet from the ship's underside. He looked toward the side of the passenger area and spotted a small window. Satisfied with his point of entry, he put both feet on the rope, let go of the rope with his hands, and leaned back. He was now being held in place by his feet and his own weight. He unsung his grapnel rifle and took a careful aim, knowing that he had one shot at this. He took a deep breath, released it, and pulled the trigger. The grapnel shot and sailed right into the window of a small storage room, bursting the glass as it went in. Kit pulled on the grapnel rope and felt that it had taken a firm hold. Next was the scary part, getting to over to the window. He took a deep breath and unhooked his carabineer from the rope around his waist and as he did so, he removed his feet from the rope, and fell free with only the grapnel rifle connecting him to the ship.

Kit swung down under the ship in a wide arc and swayed back and forth for a few moments before he settled directly under the window. He climbed his way up to the broken open window, broke the remaining pieces of glass off with his gloved hands, and entered the airship.

"What time are we expected to arrive in Port Snorsby Alois?" asked Baron Riebolt.

"Sometime after dark sir, another couple of hours," said the older wolfhound.

"Good. That gives us time to enjoy dinner," said the Baron.

Inside the storage room, Kit dropped his backpack and pulled out his hammer, flare pistol with extra cartridges, and the suit's matching cap. He donned his cap, opened the door, and peaked outside. He looked left and right and saw no one near. He took a deep breath and walked out. He proceeded down the corridor, passed the passenger compartments, and into the main passenger area. He smelt something delicious and his stomach growled in protest. He was hungry.

"Watch out little guy," said a thin wolf waiter.

Kit stepped aside and let the platter bearing waiter pass. He was confident that he blended in with the rest of the passengers. He noticed that there were a few other children and thought that he may be taken as one of them. He walked as nonchalantly as possible and exited the dining room.

"I do not see a flare signal yet," said Don Karnage.

"Maybe he fell off of the blimp Capt'n," said Maddog.

"No you half-wit, I would have spied it with my eye," said Karnage as he gazed through his telescope. "That boy had better hurry up before we get closer to Port Snorsby!"

Kit walked through the hallway and made sure to get out of the way of the passengers who were heading to dinner. A well dressed fox went passed him and chatted to an older, equally well dressed, wolfhound that followed him. They were talking in a guttural, foreign language. Kit continued on passed the Writing Room and lounge and finally reached his destination: the radio room. He knocked on the closed door.

"Vas?" said the radio officer in Reichlander.

Kit opened the door and stepped into the room. There was a lone wolfhound sitting at the radio.

"Are you lost kinder?" asked the radio officer.

"This is the radio room right?" Kit asked innocently.

"Ja, you must be lost," said the radio officer, "The passenger area is back the way you came.

"No, I think I'm in the right place," Kit said as he produced the flare pistol.

The radio officer's eyes went wide and he unconsciously pushed himself back in his wheeled chair. "What is going on?"

"You're being boarded," Kit stated as he pushed the door close with his foot and withdrew his hammer. "Don't try anything brave or stupid and everything will be alright."

The radio officer watched as the bear cub smashed the radios while keeping the flare pistol aimed at him.

Kit heard the radio officer let loose a volley of words in his own language that were more than likely curse words. He brought his hammer down on the last radio and then broke a hole through the room's window. Then he fired a flare out into the sky.

"Lookity-look!" Karnage yelled gleefully, "The radio is down! Rachet ready the gondola! Brave pirates it is time to plunder!"

Kit ran out of the room and down the corridor as fast as he could with the enraged radio officer hot on his heels. The officer was shouting in his own language and soon other flight crew began to give chase. Kit used his short height to his advantage and ducked around the crowd of passengers who were on their way to dinner. He ran into the storage room and then slammed the door shut. He bolted the lock and grabbed the grapnel rifle and reeled in the rope. He heard men shouting outside and then there was pounding on the door. It would only be a matter of a minute or two before they busted the door down. He had to do something. He looked all over the room and then looked at the ceiling. When his pursuers burst into the room they found no sign of the cub.

"What do you mean we have no communications?" said Captain Anhalt.

"Mein Hauptman, the boy destroyed them. He said we were going to be boarded," said the radio officer.

"Air Pirates!" exclaimed the captain.

The large starboard windows burst in as grapnels launched into the empty Writing Room. Within moments the air pirates were inside.

"What in God's name is going on?" asked Erich Riebolt.

"It seems as if the ship has a young stowaway on board," said Alois.

The doors to the dining area were thrown open and an accented voice called out, "Greetings and salivations my wealthy passengers! It is I, that plundering wonder you all know, the Great Don Karnage!" Hearing this, an older lady bear fainted. Karnage looked down at the woman and said, "I see you are familiar with me, yes no?"

The pirates fanned out and forced the startled passengers and crew to the port side of the Dining Room. Gibber walked up to Karnage and whispered into his ear.

"Very good, we have control of the controls of this ship and its captain. Now you will all kindly give me your valuables," said Karnage.

A few seconds later an air duct grate sprung open and Kit jumped down into the Dining Room. "Hiya Capt'n," he said with a grin.

Karnage looked at the boy, who stood there in a rumpled suit, carrying a grapnel rifle, and smiled. "Very good boy, I am impressed."

The pirates then took to their main task: plundering. They kicked open doors, grabbed belongings, snatched purses, and took wallets. Some men protested but were met with force from the pirates.

"This is a problem Alois. We should have brought more than just two men," said Baron Riebolt.

"Just give the word Erich and Gunther and Johann will step in," said Alois.

"No, we cannot risk any gunfire. Not with all of these people. The ship is full of hydrogen," said the Baron.

Alois gritted his teeth and cringed at the thought of so much flammable gas above them.

Kit stood back with Karnage and watched as his fellow pirates raided the ship. He saw Hal rip purses from the arms of women, saw Dumptruck viciously hit a defiant passenger, and he saw a couple of children crying. A young girl wolf glared at him and he had to turn away. Something in her eyes made him uneasy. He felt his face flush with embarrassment. _Why do I feel…wrong? _He thought. He looked around at the rest of the assembled passengers and crew. A face stood out at him: it was the well-dressed fox he saw earlier. The fox looked directly at Karnage with a look that was part curiosity and part anger. Suddenly the fox turned his gaze to Kit and gave him a look that made Kit think of a scientist looking at a new specimen of insect. Kit broke away from the fox's gaze and looked at his feet. He started to feel nervous.

Gunther and Johann were getting impatient. They were waiting for Baron Riebolt or Alois to give them the go-ahead to attack the pirates, but so far, their bosses had done nothing. They felt confident that they could have a successful counter attack on the pirates. They were after all, trained as commandos by the Reichland Army.

Captain Anhalt stood helpless inside the bridge of the zeppelin. He had no radio contact, crew and passengers were at the mercy of the infamous air pirate Don Karnage, and his ship wasn't moving. The air pirates had shut off the engines and now the ship was floating aimlessly in the skies. _Why aren't Riebolt's men doing anything? _He thought.

"Hey this one looks real rich," said Hal as he sized up Erich Riebolt, "I bet he has all kinds of dough."

"Well let's find out," said Maddog.

"Gentlemen," said the fox as he took his gaze off of the cub-air pirate, "That would not be wise. Perhaps I and your captain can discuss this situation in a manner that is more beneficial to both parties concerned."

"Hey Capt'n, this rich fox says he wants to talk to you," said Maddog.

Karnage walked up to the fox and asked, "Who are you?"

"I am a man not unlike yourself Don Karnage. I am a businessman and I have many friends. Friends who would not take kindly to anything bad befalling me," said the fox.

"Do these 'friends' have money?" asked Karnage.

"Do I look like I have friends who don't" said the fox.

"Wonderful! We will take you back with us," said Karnage who then turned away.

Two pirates closed in on Baron Riebolt and made the mistake of putting their hands on him. It was a mistake that they immediately regretted. Gunther and Johann's reaction came in a blur of motion as they pulled their pistols out. That was when the hijacking went wrong.

The scene unfolding before Kit's eyes made him think back to the incident with the two Khan pilots on the _Iron Vulture. _It was as if time slowed down. He saw Hal and another air pirate, a medium built bear called Screwdriver, put their hands on the wealthy fox. Immediately two nondescript wolves in business suits stepped forward and attacked the two pirates. Despite his large size, Hal was easily taken to the ground as one of the wolves kicked him in the leg and then drove a fist into his face. Screwdriver received a foot to his chest which sent him flying backward to the floor.

"STOP THEM!" screamed an enraged Don Karnage.

One wolf grabbed the fox and forced him behind the bulk of the crowd and then pulled a pistol from his suit. The other wolf punched Maddog in the nose and then pulled out a pistol of his own. Dumptruck, Hacksaw, and three other pirates raised their weapons at the two wolves. Both groups stood facing off against one another while passengers screamed and crew struggled to maintain calm.

"Don Karnage, I advise you and your men to leave this ship at once. There are thousands of cubic tons of hydrogen gas right above our heads," called out Baron Riebolt.

Karnage looked nervously up at the ceiling and then back at the crowd of people, "Who are you?" he asked.

"I am Baron Erich Riebolt and I have many friends in high places. Take my word for it: walk away."

"Ahhhh, you are one of the richest men in the world," Karnage said as he rubbed his chin in thought. "I will leave and let the passengers go, but you will come with me."

Hearing this one of the wolf bodyguards leveled his pistol at Karnage and said, "I think not Herr Karnage."

Kit was beginning to get a very bad feeling about where things were going. If anyone fired their gun on this ship then there was a chance that the hydrogen would ignite and the whole zeppelin would go up. Everyone aboard could die. He couldn't let that happen.

"EVERYBODY BE QUIET AND LISTEN!" Kit yelled.

Everyone stopped talking and focused their attention on the young pirate cub. Kit walked forward, took off his cap, and addressed the assembled: "All we want are your valuables. No one needs to get hurt and no one needs to do anything crazy. Everybody just be calm, put the guns away, and we'll take what we got and leave and you can all be left alone," Kit said.

"Boy what are you doing?" asked Karnage.

Kit looked at his captain and gave him a wink, "I got this boss."

Karnage couldn't believe the boy. Kit had actually gotten everyone to pay attention to him and had even gotten the two wolves to slightly lower their guard. Karnage thought he knew what Kit was up too. _Ah the boy is good! He is using himself as a decoy and now that everyone is watching him, including the fox's bodyguards, I can seize the opportunity! There are only two of them and I, being a great air pirate, can single-handedly take back the situation. What a wonderful protégé I have chosen! Yes, I see your plan boy!_

Karnage couldn't have been more wrong.

Kit stood there in the middle of the pirates and passengers and looked around to see if anyone was taking him seriously. He saw some of his fellow pirates looking a little unsure, he saw some passengers that had a look of hope in their eyes, and he saw the fox looking at him again. The fox had a small smile on his face. Kit thought that the fox looked amused by him. Maybe with the fox's influence, the rest of the passengers would hand over their valuables so that he and his fellow pirates could get off of the zeppelin without anyone else getting hurt. _This might just work Cloudkicker, _he thought. As soon as he finished his thought movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention: something whisked by and then one of the wolf bodyguards screamed in pain. The wolf dropped his pistol and reached up to his shoulder where a small throwing knife was embedded. Kit swung his head up toward Karnage and saw that the air pirate leader had thrown one of his blades. The other bodyguard swung his pistol in Karnage's direction but was tackled by Dumptruck. The two fell to the floor and struggled for control of the weapon. Pandemonium erupted and the passengers started screaming in terror. The fox's wolfhound assistant reached down for the wounded bodyguard's pistol but was jumped by Screwdriver. The black bear pinned the older wolfhound to the floor and then received a kick to the side of his head by the fox.

"Pirates! Get this situation under my control!" bellowed Karnage.

Kit was caught in the middle of a throng of pirates and panicking passengers. He was knocked to the ground and had to crawl along the floor to get away. Someone grabbed at his grapnel rifle with enough force to lift him off the ground. It was Hacksaw. Hacksaw yanked the rifle off Kit's back and swung it into the face of one of the crew members.

"Oh no! This wasn't supposed to happen!" Kit said, but no one heard him over the shouts and screams.

A sharp crack filled the Dining Room followed by several more as Dumptruck and the bodyguard wrestled for control of the weapon. Even with his size, Dumptruck was struggling against the smaller wolf. The wolf forced Dumptruck off of him, stood up, and prepared to fire his weapon. Dumptruck grabbed the wolf's arm and forced it up as he fought to get the weapon away from the wolf. Another of Karnage's throwing knives flew across the room and hit the wolf in the arm. The force caused the wolf to reflexively fire his pistol up into the ceiling.

The bullet shot straight up into the thin ceiling of the Dining Hall and easily passed through the thin fabric of the zeppelin's cigar-shaped body. It pierced some of the large hydrogen bags and, by an incredible twist of fate, scrapped against one of the metal ribs that was part of the airship's frame and caused a small spark of hot metal to form. Instantly the hot spark caused the volatile gas to ignite.

"CAPTAIN! WE GOT TO GET OUTTA HERE!" screamed Maddog in terror.

Karnage saw the gun fire into the ceiling and knew that if it pierced the hydrogen bags and ignited that the whole ship would go up in flames. _UH-OH, _he thought then he gave out his next order: "RETREAT! RETREAT! TACTICAL, STRATEGICALLY WITHDRAW!" Then he turned and ran toward the starboard windows.

The gondola was parallel to the zeppelin and was manned by a small, gray cat with a horned helmet named Axl. Axl saw his brave leader practically jump out the window and onto the grapnel rope that was connected to the gondola. Don Karnage rapidly pulled his way to the gondola and screamed, "Prepare us to leave!"

"But Capt'n, what about the others?" asked Axl.

"Never mind them you fool! They are behind me!" yelled Karnage.

The rest of the pirates had gotten on their ropes and one by one they cut the rope ends that led to the zeppelin and each of them dropped down under the gondola. From there they began to climb up.

From the open bay of the _Iron Vulture _Rachet and Jock saw a burst of fire erupt from the top of the zeppelin.

"It's on fire!" said Rachet as he pointed down to the burning vessel.

"Mon Dieu!" said Jock.

Aboard the _Queen of the Skies _chaos reigned. Kit saw his captain jump through the window and onto a grapnel rope. His fellow pirates followed suit. He made a run for the window as well, but was knocked to the ground by a badger crewman who was running toward the galley. Everywhere people were yelling and screaming. He saw crewmen grabbing parachutes and shoving them into the arms of passengers. He had a bad feeling that there wouldn't be enough parachutes to go around. He saw the fox and his entourage and the airship's captain struggling to maintain order but it was no use. Their shouts and commands were drowned out by the panicked people. He looked up and saw that the other pirates were cutting their ropes from the ship. They weren't planning on taking _any _prisoners. It was everyman for himself. _He who falls behind gets left behind, _he thought. Kit heard a hiss and suddenly felt heat fill the cabin. It felt like he had stepped in front of a furnace. The fire must've reached the passenger areas! He looked back and saw crewmen forcing parachute wearing passengers out the windows. He stood up, pulled his airfoil from his suit, and jumped out the window.

Karnage watched as Kit jumped out the window and sailed on his airfoil toward one of the ropes that hung from the gondola. He saw the boy reach out and grab on with one hand and with the other grab his airfoil from his feet. "We have everybody Axl. Get me and us out of here!"

Axl pulled back on a lever and the gondola began to rise upward toward the _Iron Vulture _with Kit hanging below. "We're outta here Capt'n!" said Axl.

Kit hung from the rope by one hand as the gondola rose upward into the darkening sky. He looked down at the burning airship. He could see several parachuted people slowly descending toward the waters below, but there weren't nearly as many as there were passengers and crew. He looked up and saw that they were getting closer to the _Iron Vulture. _Suddenly a large explosion rocked the _Queen of the Skies. _Fire spread all across the airship and screams of absolute terror filled the air. Kit watched in horror as the once great zeppelin and her doomed passengers fell from the sky and with them his innocence.


	11. Kit's Gambit

_"Courage is being scared to death-but saddling up anyway"-John Wayne_

_November 9__th__ 1937, sunset-_

Kit sat on the floor of his thinking spot, legs spread and arms hanging limply in front of him, staring out at the sea and the setting sun. He sat there looking out but not focusing. He gazed out with what soldiers called 'The Thousand Yard Stare'. He had been sitting alone there for the better part of an hour after taking refuge in his hiding place shortly after the _Iron Vulture _had returned to Pirate Island. He hadn't slept since the night before the raid on the _Queen of the Skies. _

The crew had monitored radio frequencies and learned that a couple of passing freighters had managed to rescue 49 survivors from the sea. 49 out of 133, that meant that 82 had perished. There were unconfirmed reports that the world's third richest man, Baron Erich Riebolt, was presumed to have died in the attack. Kit thought about all of those innocent people that had their lives ended in the ill-fated hijacking. Kit thought about the few children that he saw aboard the airship. He remembered the young girl wolf that had glared at him and made him feel uneasy. _Ashamed _was a better word. He felt ashamed of what had happened. He felt _empty. Did she survive? _He wondered. _Eighty two died all because of our greed. I destroyed the radios, I got the others aboard, I'm responsible! I didn't want it to end like it did! I just wanted to finally prove myself to Karnage and the others. I tried to stop the violence! I thought maybe I could talk some sense into them, but I failed and eighty two people died! It's my fault…and the others fault. We thought this was the big score but now innocent people are dead! All for greed! I didn't deserve to get away, none of us did for what we caused! _The guilt came crashing into Kit's very being and soon the cub was wracked by a bout of dry heaving. He doubled over and struggled to gain control of himself. He felt sick, disgusted in himself for his role in the hijacking. He felt that there was as much blood on his hands as the rest of the hijackers. He regained his composure and sagged to the ground and lay staring up at the tunnel's roof. _I can't do this anymore. This isn't what it was supposed to be. I thought it was going to be different. Here I am, stuck on this bleak island, surrounded by a pack of cut-throats, led by a psyche-case captain with delusions of grandeur who was the first one to run away when everything went wrong, and to top it off, I'm as guilty as they are! I can't go on like this!_ With a feeling of total conviction he rose to his feet, looked out at the blood-red sky, and made his decision: _I'm getting out._

_November 17__th__ 1937-_

"Ahhhhhh, what is this? This is very interesting me thinks," said Karnage as he examined paperwork that he had snatched from the hands of a captured Khan pilot that had been forced to land his plane in the water. The documents had been taken from a nondescript sealed envelope that was up front with the pilots.

"What is it boss?" asked Maddog.

"Imbecile, I just asked that question!" snapped Karnage, "If I knew what it was I wouldn't have said 'what is this?', It sounds expensive and dangerous."

"Look Karnage, its nothing. Its probably all just some newfangled project that won't work," said the panther pilot.

"If that is so, then why would you care if I take it?" asked Karnage. The wolf took a closer look at the paperwork and the characteristics of the item it discussed. "Hmmmmm very intriguing. I think I shall take this to Rachet."

"What are you going to do with the paperwork boss?" asked Maddog.

"If I, with my limitless intelligence am correct, then I am going to use this to make me rich!" said the wolf as he walked out of the open side door to his waiting raft.

_Pirate Island, later that night-_

"Capt'n, According to these documents this project is aimed at harnessing energy…limitless energy," said Rachet.

"Go on," replied Karnage.

"Apparently Khan Industries has spent several years and millions of dollars to make some sort of revolutionary type of energy source that can generate a staggering amount of electrical energy. The project was headed by one Doctor Edgar Debolt and to date only one has been made," said Rachet.

The wolf mechanic went onto discuss the details of the mulit-million dollar project. He explained to Karnage how the ruby-like stone could be used to power entire city districts. The stone could also discharge thousands of volts of electricity that could be focused into a steady beam of raw power. Hearing this part, Karnage's eyes went wide. _I wonder…could this finally be my ticket to getting into Cape Suzette? This could allow me to orchestrate the greatest plunder of all time! All I need is this stone!_

"Rachet," said Karnage.

"Yes Capt'n," replied Rachet.

"I have a brilliant idea! Let's go and take a closer look at the cannon I stole from Sultan," said Karnage who then paused, "And grab your copy of **Do it Yourself Electronics, **we have important work to discuss." With that, Karnage picked up the Khan documents entitled, **Sub-Electron Amplifier: Overview and Practical Applications, **and headed for Rachet's workshop.

_People were running everywhere. Screams of panic added to the cacophony of pandemonium that filled the dining room. Smoke permeated the air and heat scalded the terror-stricken passengers. Crewmen forced parachute-wearing people out of windows, but there weren't enough to go around. Men shouted orders that were barely heard over the screams of horror. _

_He was knocked to the floor by crewman and lay their pinned under him as a throng of people fought one another for parachutes. He struggled to free himself, but it was no use. The heat was becoming unbearable and the thick smoke chocked him and made his eyes water. Suddenly the airship was rocked by a blast and it lurched down tail first. The ship was going to crash. He panicked as he attempted to push the fallen crewman off of him, but it was no use. He looked left and right and his eyes fell on a well-dressed fox that stood perfectly calm amid the chaos. The fox was staring at him with a stern, accusing face. The fox suddenly disappeared in a flash or brilliant white heat that caused him to shut his eyes and look away from the roaring flames. He opened his eyes and found himself looking up at a girl wolf. The girl had an expression that was part anger and part pity. Then she shot her finger at him in a gesture of accusation. He turned his head away and cried out in shame and despair as the entire cabin area erupted into flames…_

Kit woke with a startled gasp and sat bolt upright in his bunk. He panted heavily and could feel his heart pounding in his chest. His limbs shook and he immediately drew his legs to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. Brief images of the nightmare flitted through his mind and disappeared, leaving the cub with a profound sense of shame. He knew what the nightmare was about. He sank back down and lay looking up at the ceiling and fell back asleep to thoughts of escaping.

_November 18__th__, 1937-_

Kit stood leaning up against a bulkhead deep inside the _Iron Vulture _and twirled his yo-yo in and out of his palm. He found the exercise had a calming effect on him. It helped him to focus his mind. He had been doing an awful lot of thinking since the disaster aboard the _Queen of the Skies. _He had been trying to formulate a plan to escape from Don Karnage and the others, but so far he had nothing. How would he do it? Where would he go afterward? And most importantly, what were the odds of him actually succeeding? He knew one thing; he had to leave this life behind. What had started out as a chance for adventure and flying had turned into almost a year of crime and guilt. He had directly contributed to thievery, assaults, and the deaths of 82 people. This last fact made him close his eyes and grit his teeth, _It was all because of me, _he thought.

The cub took a deep sigh and thought to himself, _'Stop feeling sorry for yourself Cloudkicker cause no one's feeling sorry for you. It wasn't just you that was responsible. But now you have a responsibility to yourself to set things right and make up for what you did. You went from being McCloud to being Cloudkicker so you can go from air pirate to good guy. All you need is an opportunity…and a plan._

Kit's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of voices. Someone was approaching him. "It's the Captain," he said to himself.

"It's a ruby that Khan has and I want it! It will make me very very more rich!" said Karnage.

"But Capt'n what makes you think we can get it?" asked Maddog.

"Because I, your muy intelligente capitane have discovered from our captured paperwork that this stone will be in transit from Cape Suzette to mainland Usland. It is only a matter of time before we find the plane that it is on," said Karnage.

"What if Khan doesn't send it there?" asked Maddog.

"My dear, less intelligent minion, Khan is so sure of himself and his company that he feels that he can do anything he wants whenever he wants. So I, being very observant, have realized that the tiger will no doubt stick to his schedule and send this ruby to Usland on schedule which gives us less than two weeks to get it and make me richer!" said Karnage with a smile.

"Boss, how much is it worth? I heard you say it was the size a hand," said Maddog.

"It will be worth far more than you think Maddog," replied Karnage.

Just then Karnage and Maddog rounded the corner and came face to face with Kit who stood against a bulkhead with his red yo-yo in hand.

"Ahhhhh, hello young one, how is my favorite ball of fur doing today?" asked Karnage.

"Ummm pretty swell Capt'n, just looking forward to some action," replied Kit.

"That is what I like to hear," said Karnage as he and Maddog moved off down the corridor as they talked about their upcoming heist.

_A ruby the size of hand!, _Kit thought, _that could be my ticket to getting out of here! _With this thought the cub scampered down the corridor toward his bunk area. He felt a plan forming in his mind.

_Cape Suzette, November 20__th__, 1937-_

Doctor Edgar Debolt sat in his office in the Research and Development Department inside Khan Tower. The short rabbit looked at the latest report regarding Project Jewel with interest. The report stated that the fabricated crystal could indeed generate and store immense amounts of electricity. However the crystal was extremely volatile and highly unstable under all but the most secure of conditions. He thought to the accidental electrocution of two of his lab assistants. That had occurred five days ago and both men were still in the intensive care ward of Cape Suzette Memorial Hospital. It was his opinion that Project Jewel, as ambitious in its scope as it was, was nowhere near ready for commercial use. Khan's mulit-million dollar pet project was much too risky to be allowed to be put to use. Debolt dreaded telling his boss that and instead had opted to have the device flown from Cape Suzette to Khan Industries' newly acquired Scientific Applications Corporation in San't Diego Kalifornia. SAC had some of the best minds at work in the field of electrical engineering and was headed by Doctor Howard Buzz. Buzz had been sent to oversee Khan's new acquisition last month and was due to be on site until the spring. If anyone could hammer out Project Jewel's bugs it was Buzz. Khan had agreed to the transfer of the stone, with the underlying threat that failure was not an option, and so the ruby-red stone was scheduled to leave for San't Diego in a week's time. In the meantime, important documents had been sent to SAC ahead of the stone's arrival. Unfortunately that plane had been hijacked by air pirates. With luck the crew had managed to destroy the courier package with the project overview.

"Soon we will unlock your secrets and soon Khan Industries will have its next cash machine," said Debolt to the picture of the ruby-like stone, "All we need is a little more time."

Little did the rabbit now that his courier package had not been destroyed. The Khan pilots had filed a false report in order to save their jobs and now the knowledge of the project and its potential were in the hands of the most dangerous man in the entire Pacific.

_Pirate Island, November 23__rd__ 1937-_

"So Capt'n, when's the next big heist?" Kit asked innocently.

"Ready to go and plunder some more my little protégé?" asked the wolf.

"Well I've been getting antsy," said Kit with a smile.

Karnage looked at his young apprentice and couldn't help but smile. The boy was worth his weight in gold. He had a certain spark in him that made him stand out from the rest of his pirates. Despite his youth, the cub consistently went above and beyond his fellow pirates. The boy had succeeded in paving the way for the heist on the _Queen of the Skies, _of course that had ended badly, but still the boy was good at what he did. The boy had a bright future, he had no doubt about it, this boy would go places.

"My boy, I will give you a little teeny-tiny hint: Very soon, I the Great Don Karnage will lead us to the biggest score in history!" said Karnage.

"What is it Capt'n?" Kit inquired.

"You will see my boy, you will see," said Karnage as he patted Kit on the head. _Ah yes, he is so eager and so promising. I am so very fortunate to have such a capable boy as my protégé! _He thought.

As Kit stood there with Karnage patting his head he thought to himself, _Take yer stinking, cowardly paws off of me you ego-maniac nut job! In a few days I am going to steal your biggest score for myself! Let's see how you like that! _"Gee-whiz Capt'n, I can hardly wait!" he said with a smile.

_Pirate Island, November 24__th__, 1937-_

"What the heck does the Capt'n want with all of this junk?" asked Hal as he looked over the assortment of glassware, copper rods, and electrical cable.

"Ya got me Hal, all I know is that ol'Rachet has been workin' pretty much round the clock," said Axl.-

"Yeah guys, the Capt'n has had him in his shop for about a week and no one but the Capt'n is allowed in there," said Maddog.

"Well we need to go back to stealing stuff that's worth money! Besides if we keep robbing Khan as much as we have been the he's liable to send out his private air force," said Hal.

At that moment Rachet walked out and instructed the other to load the assorted odds and ends on a dolly which he then rolled into his workshop. He closed and locked the door and then turned to gaze at his work: the Miniversal cannon was now mounted on a stolen rail car chassis. It was in the process of being fitted with various electrical components and a new control array. Rachet smiled at his work in progress and then set about inventorying his latest materials.

_Thanksgiving Day, November 25__th__, 1937-_

Kit spent Thanksgiving Day eating stolen turkey with the rest of the air pirates. Although Thanksgiving was an Usland Holiday and the majority of the pirates weren't Uslanders, Karnage(himself not an Uslander) had decided to celebrate the holiday with a big feast.

"My noble air pirates, I may have your attention," said Karnage who stood at the head of the table, "I would like you all to be thankful for the riches we have plundered for me and to be more thankful for the plundering yet to come!"

"Here! here!" responded the pirates.

"Very soon we will be setting out for more riches! Where those riches are I will not say at this time, but you will be supporting yours truly, which is I, in the plundering of great riches so be thankful that you will have this opportunity!" said the wolf as he raised his glass into the air. The others followed suit and Karnage said, "To being thankful for riches on Thanksgiving Day! Salut!" And with that the pirates toasted their thanks of present and future riches.

Kit drank his toast, but he wasn't thankful for any sort of plunder. He had finally come to his senses and decided to do the right thing and leave the air pirates; and for that he was truly thankful.

_November 26__th__, 1937-_

Kit sat in his thinking spot and went over his plan in his head again: _OK, let's take it from the top. Tomorrow we leave out and lay in wait along the air lanes. Karnage will have us hiding in the clouds as usual and he will have his team designated in advance. He said he wanted me on it, but I am going to fake being sick, maybe food poisoning or something! I'll pretend to have a really upset stomach and he'll leave me back on the Vulture. I'll lie around in my bunk until I know Karnage has left. Next its up the air vent and through the air ducts. I'll make my way through the ducts until I get to the bridge. Karnage is sure to come back to the bridge once he's back so he can show off his prize. Then comes the fun part: I'll jump out of the air duct, grab the jewel, and beat feet outta there. Now comes the tricky part. I'll have to duck and dodge anyone I come across and keep Karnage and the others far enough behind me. It'll be down the stairs to the armory. I'll swipe a grapnel rifle and then make for prow of the ship. Then I just got to hope I'll have the guts to go through with the next part. Once I'm on the ground all I'll have to do is hop a ride to Cape Suzette and then go and see Khan and then I'll be set for life! _Kit smiled at this final thought, but then calculated his odds. He would have to crawl a few hundred feet through the air ducts without being heard, steal the jewel from Karnage(providing that Karnage went straight to the bridge and not to his quarters), run away from Karnage, dodge any pirates he may encounter, get to the armory and hope no one was in there at the moment, jump from the ship, surf down, hope that he wasn't too high up, hope there were planes around, get into Cape Suzette with Karnage hunting him down, and hope to God that Khan rewarded him. When the cub factored in all of the obstacles he would face and all of the worse case scenarios, he realized that the odds were stacked against him. He figured he had less than a 10 percent chance of actually succeeding in getting off of the _Iron Vulture _and maybe a 15 percent chance that he'd come across a plane. If not, well he didn't want to think about that. He also knew that Karnage would stop at nothing to get his jewel back. That included killing. Kit's heart jumped when the reality of the gambit's odds set in and he began to second guess himself. _Maybe being a pirate isn't so bad. Maybe I can get a good-sized portion of the plunder…NO! Don't think that way Cloudkicker! These guys are dangerous. They're a bunch of murderous thugs and criminals with a madman as a leader. They'll only keep stealing and killing anyone that stands in their way. This is your chance to finally make a better life for yourself. Opportunities like this a rare so take the chance. If you make it then you'll be on easy street. If you don't…well let's not think about that._

_Cape Suzette, that afternoon-_

Debolt gently placed the ruby-like jewel inside the small treasure box and shut the lid. The box was a bit dramatic, but he felt that such a creation that had so much potential deserved to be regarded as a treasure. Besides, he figured that Buzz would get a kick out of it.

His phone began ringing and the scientist picked it up. "Hello, this is Doctor Debolt," he said.

"Doctor, the Boss wanted me to reiterate to you that he is only allowing the stone to leave based on your recommendations and he said, and quote, 'I will be most displeased if anything were to happen to _my _stone,' end quote. This came from Agatha Snarly, Khan's private secretary.

"I figured he'd say that," replied Debolt.

"He also said that there would be, quote, 'severe repercussions,' if anything happened to it," she said.

Debolt gulped and absentmindedly pulled on his left ear. "Ummm, why are you telling me this and not him ?" He asked.

The shrew didn't seem amused by this obvious ploy to bait her; "Our boss is currently in a very important meeting and trusted me to relay his message. Of course I can interrupt his very important meeting and let him know that you'd rather him deliver his message to you personally doctor."

"No, no that won't be necessary. I'll take care of everything. He won't have to worry about anything…"

"Good." Click went the connection as the shrew secretary hung up on Debolt.

_Pirate Island, later that night-_

Kit pulled off his green sweater and laid it next to his bunk. He placed his airfoil, yo-yo, and his toothbrush next to it. He flipped off the light and laid back and pulled the sheets over him, yawning in the process. He was tired and about ready to pass out. Tomorrow was the big day: Escape. He felt nervous and apprehensive about the odds he would be facing. He wouldn't admit it, but he was scared. Ever since he was young he had always tried to hide his fears behind a mask of confidence and cockiness. He had been through a lot and always managed to come out on top, but this was different. This time he'd be risking his life to escape from some of the most dangerous men in the world and he'd need all the courage he could muster. He knew he might not make it out of this one alive. That thought sent a shiver through his bones. The cub looked up at the ceiling, took a deep breath, and got out of bed. He then did something that he hadn't done since he was a little kid. He knelt down, put his hands together, and prayed.

"OK God, I know I don't do this much, er or ever, but please hear my prayer: Please Lord, give me the courage to go through with this and let me get away with this." He thought that that last part sounded selfish, so he added, "I'm sorry for all of the bad things I've done especially since I joined the air pirates. I know I'm no angel, I'm not even close, but I want to turn my life around and do the right thing. If I get out of this mess alive, I promise that I'll do my best to be a better person and help people. Please," he paused a moment than continued, "Please help me out Lord, Amen." He crossed himself and then got back into bed. He was asleep in less than a minute.

_November 27__th__, 1937-_

The _Iron Vulture _lifted off from the channel leading into Pirate Island and made its way northwest in order to intersect with the Cape Suzette/Kalifornia shipping lane. Kit had woken up early, grabbed his stuff, and joined up with the crew. He felt rested for the first time in a long while. It was a little after eight in the morning and he figured that the Khan plane wouldn't show until the afternoon, if it showed at all. Apparently Karnage had some paperwork with the date of the Khan airplane's flight. If the plane didn't show then he would be stuck with the pirates a little longer.

"Ready for today my boy?" asked Karnage as he strolled over to Kit on the ship's bridge.

"Ummm, ah I feel kinda sick Capt'n," said Kit. He hadn't expected Karnage to sneak up behind him and he was almost caught off guard.

"Sick? Sick how?" asked Karnage.

"I, um…its my stomach. I think I ate something that I didn't agree with," Kit said with a miserable sounding voice.

"Hmmmm, perhaps it was leftovers from Turkey Day," said the wolf as he scratched his chin.

"Maybe it i-, ooooffff!" Kit doubled over with his arms around his stomach, "Urgh, my stomach…it feels like I want to throw up," he said.

"Are you alright my little ball of fur?" asked Karnage with a touch of genuine concern.

"I think so but, ahhhh ick, I uh…maybe I should go and try to throw up and get it out of my system," Kit said and then ran out of the bridge.

Kit snagged a can of potato soup from the galley and a can opener and made toward the nearest latrine. He opened up the can in a side corridor next to the latrine and looked at the grayish-white soup. "Oh yeah, this'll definitely do." _Maybe my gamble might actually pay off!_

"So Will, when is this plane supposed to get here? I can't wait to see what the boss keeps going on about," said Maddog to the second mate.

"It'll be a couple more hours I thin-Hey! Look at this," Will said as he pointed to Kit.

Kit had heard the two pirates coming down the catwalk and decided to make his move. He took a big gulp of soup, hid the can, and ran toward the catwalk. He made a show of attempting to reach the latrine but stopped and forcibly ejected the soup out his mouth.

The two air pirates watched as the boy projectile vomited onto the floor in front of the latrine and then lean against a bulkhead. Both instantly looked at the cub in disgust and then began to laugh.

"HAHAHAHA! Are you alright Kit? Hehehe," asked Maddog with a laugh.

"Uhhhhh," was all Kit said.

"I think he's got the stomach flu or somthin' Maddog," said Will.

"Hey guys can you tell the Capt'n to count me out for this? I feel like garbage," said Kit in a sickly sounding voice.

"Hey no problem Kit besides I don't want you giving me what you've got," said Maddog with a smile.

"Go ahead and go to yer bunk. I'll let the Capt'n know yer sick," said Will.

"OK, thanks guys," said Kit as he pushed open the latrine door and went inside. He stood near the door for a few moments and then peaked out and saw that the two had left. "Suckers!"

"What? He projectiontiled vomited? HAHAHA That is so funny!" said Don Karnage.

"Yeah boss, there's no way he'd be up for the job. He'd be liable to get sick on the plane and puke everywhere," said Maddog.

"Oh well the boy will just have to miss this one," said Karnage. _But I am sure that the boy will be ready for the main event! Oh good peoples of Cape Suzette, you better get ready for the greatest pirate in the world!_

_Cape Suzette-_

Khan Industries Flight 127 raced down the runway and rose into the late morning sky. Its two man crew had received their normal shipment of cargo and a little something extra. Before they boarded their plane a black Roars Royce pulled up and out stepped a small, spectacle wearing rabbit who identified himself as Doctor Edgar Debolt. Debolt handed them a small treasure box and a document explaining who it was intended for. A tiger bodyguard handed both men pistols and explained to them that they were to keep the box safe at all costs.

"If this is so important then why isn't it flying with fighter escorts?" asked the pilot.

"Security knows that that would draw too much attention from corporate spies and air pirates and if the plane is boarded the box is small enough to hide," said the dour-faced tiger.

"Gentlemen please, whatever you do, make sure that the box isn't jostled around," Debolt said .

"We'll take care of it doctor," said the copilot.

A few minutes later Debolt watched as the plane climbed into the sky with its precious cargo. _Hopefully Buzz will be able to improve on it, _he thought as he climbed into the car and was driven back to Khan Tower.

_Aboard that Iron Vulture-_

"Capt'n! I can see a plane approaching!" said Maddog excitedly.

"Are you sure it is not another independent type plane?" asked Karnage.

"No boss, it's a Khan markings, I can see the paint sceme and the insignia.

Hearing this Karnage jumped up from his seat, grabbed his intercom, and loudly said, "My pirates! To your planes!"

Kit's head shot up from his pillow as he heard Karnage gives his order over the intercom.

"It's showtime!" he said.

Karnage and his men took off from the _Iron Vulture _in pursuit of the Khan plane. The pirate leader was giddy with excitement as he thought about the jewel he was about to steal. Soon he, the Great Don Karnage, would be putting the jewel to use in the greatest plundering in history!

Kit pulled himself up into the airduct and proceeded to crawl toward the bridge. He had a few hundred feet and, as a precaution, had taken a blanket with him that he could rest his knees on. He used the blanket as a cution and as a means of keeping his knees from getting too sore. What good would sore knees do him when he would need to be running later?

After over an hour of crawling around the airducts he reached bridge. He slowly inched his way forward, careful so as to avoid making noise and giving his position away. He paused at the grate that was above a desk and waited. Despite being scared to death he was ready to go through with his plan.

The sound of voices alerted him: Karnage was back! Kit peered through the grate and saw his soon to be ex-boss swipe away papers and other assorted things from the desk. He then placed a small treasure box on the desk. _Get ready Cloudkicker…_

"At last the key to my future!" Karnage said with a half insane laugh. "Riches my men, riches beyond your limited insignifigant dreams! But not beyond mine! For soon I, Don Karnage, shall be the wealthiest man in the World!"

_NOW!_

Just as Karnage finished talking, Kit fell out of the airduct and landed on the desk in front of Karnage. The pirate leader flinched back and gave Kit the opportunity to grab the treasure box.

"For me? Aw you shouldn't have!" said Kit with boyish innocence. Then he was off the table and running.

"Well it was nothing really," Karnage said, momentarily oblivious to what Kit had just done. Then it dawned on him, "STOP THAT BOY!"

Kit ran out of the bridge, into a corridor then hung a right into another corridor. He ran down the nearest stairs with Karnage hot in tow and came face to face with Dumptruck.

"Don't just stand there! The Captain needs your help!" he said to the air pirate as he continued on his way. The less than intelligent pirate made to run toward his captain and ended up colliding with him. Karnage went sprawling with the force of the blow.

Kit went down more steps, swung onto another set of stairs and continued bounding down them with Karnage back in pursuit. He jumped onto the hand rail, waved at Karnage, and slid down.

"Get him you idiots!" Karnage screamed.

Kit reached out and grabbed onto a nearby rope and swung down to the next level. He ran into the armory and came to a rack of weapons. He snagged a grapnel gun from the rack and then turned to look over his left shoulder. If anyone was in the armory when Kit grabbed his rifle, they would've noticed the cruel and hard expression that crossed his face. It was a look of supreme confidence and danger that conveyed a threat to anyone who stood in his way. It was the type of look that belied his young age.

Kit looked around and ran out of the armory toward the open beak of the ship. He sprinted to the edge and stopped inches from going over.

"What!" he said as he noticed that there was no land beneath him. He had figured that the ship would've gone over land, but instead it was over the ocean. _Uh-oh._

"Well my reckless reptile, perhaps it is none of my business but uh you've gotten yourself in a tiny piccolo, yes no?" said Don Karnage who stood with Gibber and Maddog close behind.

Kit looked at Karnage and said sarcastically, "You know, it _is _none of yer business!" Then he turned and looked down at the sea of clouds below him.

As Kit stepped off into the empty sky he said to himself, "I am Cloudkicker!"

"_I've seen angels fall from blinding heights but you yourself are nothing so divine"-Chris Cornell_


End file.
